Description

Echinorhinus zheleskovi
Middle Eocene
Mangyshlak, Kazakhstan
5mm tooth of an extinct species of bramble shark.

Shark.

Echinorhinus is a shark genus with several modern and fossil species dating back to the early Cretaceous. These species are commonly referred to as bramble sharks or prickly sharks – so named for their enlarged, variably-sized dermal denticles that make up a rough and thorny skin surface.

Today, Echinorhinus frequents deeper water but occasionally ranges into the shallows. This explains its relative rarity in marine fossil deposits which tend to represent shallow water environments.

This is an in-demand tooth because of its rarity and fragility with most specimens chipped or broken. This specimen retains a complete crown and root and is at a bargain price.