Comments on: Prehistoric shark (video)

By: Frank the SciencePunk

Frank the SciencePunk — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:21:14 +0000

I don't think they mean the actual shark itself is 18 million years old! This is a frilled shark, known as a 'living fossil' because it has not changed for millions of years. Scientists know this because the living specimens are identical to fossils dating back millions of years. If you need to measure the age of an individual fish, you can look at a bone in the ear of the fish called the otolith. Just like a tree stump, you can count the rings on the otolith to calculate the age of the fish!

By: sarge

sarge — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:07:57 +0000

didnt they say that this shark is 18 million years old and if they did say that how do they know

By: Frank the SciencePunk

Frank the SciencePunk — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:17:50 +0000

I feel like that every time I eat cod & chips.

A lot of the deep sea animals we only come across when sick and dying individuals wander to the surface. So don’t feel too bad.

But yeah, we are running out of cod.

By: paul parkinson

paul parkinson — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:25:31 +0000

I always wonder – when they find this kind of thing – is that the last one? Is it the last male or last female of the species? Scary thought…