Prehistoric Shark Fossils Unearthed in Egypt’s Western Desert Reveal Lost Marine World

Researchers have discovered an ancient shark “graveyard” deep within Egypt’s Western Desert, shedding light on the region’s long-lost marine past.

Fossilized teeth from seven distinct shark species, dating back tens of millions of years, were unearthed in the Abu-Tartur Plateau between 2020 and 2022. The findings, published Aug. 18 in the journal Cretaceous Research, offer a rare glimpse into a prehistoric ocean ecosystem that once thrived in what is now arid terrain.

“This study provides evidence that the area now occupied by the plateau was once a sea with flourished marine life, with environmental conditions suitable for its development and prosperity, including favourable temperatures, sunlight, and appropriate oxygen levels,” said study first author Tarek Yassin, a paleontologist at Cairo University in Egypt, in an email to Live Science.

During the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago), global temperatures were significantly higher than today, and sea levels reached up to 558 feet (170 meters) above current levels, according to the Natural History Museum in London. These conditions allowed shallow seas to form across regions that are now desert, including parts of Egypt.

The Abu-Tartur Plateau sits within the Duwi Formation, a Late Cretaceous geological structure that stretches across both Egypt’s Eastern and Western deserts. Earlier investigations had already revealed fossils of fish, sea turtles, and other marine reptiles in the area, pointing to a once-thriving underwater habitat. The surrounding rocks are also abundant in phosphorite, a sedimentary rock that commonly forms from the accumulated remains of marine organisms.

“We had conducted research before our expedition and knew that areas rich in phosphate deposits could also contain fossils of vertebrate marine organisms,” Yassin explained, describing the discovery of the shark teeth as an “exciting surprise.”

Yassin and his team had previously identified fossilized teeth from two species of mackerel shark. However, subsequent fieldwork conducted between 2020 and 2022 yielded 14 additional teeth representing at least five more shark species. One species, Scapanorhynchus raphiodon, a distant relative of the modern goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni), had never before been documented in Africa. Two others, Serratolamna serrata and Squalicorax bassanii, were recorded in Egypt for the first time.

“Finding teeth belonging to seven different shark species was particularly remarkable, especially because they were all discovered in the same location, in the middle of an entire plateau,” Yassin noted. “This discovery is more than simply a large assemblage of shark fossils.”

The concentration of so many shark species in one location suggests the area supported a nutrient-rich and ecologically diverse environment, with ample prey to sustain these apex predators. The researchers caution, however, that the sharks likely did not all coexist simultaneously; their remains may have been deposited in the same sediment layer over an extended period.

The research team intends to continue exploring the Abu-Tartur Plateau and its surroundings. “We believe there is still much more to discover,” Yassin said.

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