A ‘shark graveyard’ dating back some 80 million years has been discovered in the Egyptian desert

New discoveries have enabled the identification of at least five additional taxa of ancient sharks. Taking into account previous discoveries in the Abu Tartur area, scientists are now aware of specimens belonging to at least seven species.

Details

Researchers collected 14 teeth from the phosphate deposits of the Duvy Formation on the Abu Tartur Plateau. These varied greatly in shape — ranging from narrow, needle-like teeth to broad, triangular ones with serrated edges.

Among the finds were Serratolamna cf. serrata and Squalicorax bassanii, which had not previously been found in Egypt.

Of particular interest were the teeth attributed to Scapanorhynchus cf. raphiodon — an ancient relative of the modern goblin shark. If the identification is confirmed, this could be the first discovery of this taxon in Africa and, at the same time, one of its latest appearances in the fossil record.

However, the designation ‘cf.’ means that the identification is not yet definitive and requires additional specimens.

The authors refer to the site as a ‘shark graveyard’, but this does not imply a mass die-off of the animals. The phosphate layer formed slowly and may have accumulated teeth over a long period of time, mixing the remains of organisms from different periods and ecological niches.

Why this is important

The very fact that a sea once existed where the modern Egyptian desert now lies has long been known. This new study reveals just how diverse the community of large marine predators was in this part of the ancient ocean.

Differences in tooth structure indicate sharks with different feeding strategies. Together with previously discovered fish, sea turtles and reptiles, they formed a rich Late Cretaceous ecosystem.

Phosphate deposits also indicate high biological productivity in the ancient sea: there were sufficient nutrients in the water to sustain a complex food web — from small prey to large predators.

However, it cannot be concluded that all seven species were swimming in the same place at the same time. The ‘graveyard’ represents an accumulation of remains over a long period of time.

Source

Study:“Egyptian shark graveyard: New Late Cretaceous Lamniform shark assemblage from the Duwi Formation of the Abu-Tartur area, south-western desert, Egypt”.

Authors: Tarek Yassin et al.

Journal: Cretaceous Research, 2026.