Shark-Like Fossil Found In Elko

Abstract

When you think of wildlife in Nevada, sharks don’t usually come to mind.But shark-like creatures were here, 250 million years ago, when the continents were still one, and the region was covered in water.
A surprising discovery was made in Elko recently. Carlo Romano of the University of Zurich in Switzerland led the project.
“It looked quite different from modern day bony fish," Romano told KNPR's State of Nevada, "Bony fish are fishes like the pike or tuna. It didn’t look like them. It looked more like a shark.”
He said the jaws of the animal, which has been named Birgeria americana, was about a fifth of the total length of the animal. It's size, which is estimated to have been about six feet long, and carnivorous nature is exactly why it is important, Romano explained.