Excavations in the Crimea: in the cave «Tavrid» found the tooth of an ancient shark

Work in the Tavrida cave is the sixth year. These are the largest paleontological excavations in Russia. Researchers sift through the sieve removed soil and so collect the bones of ancient land animals. The age of the remains is 1.5 — 1.7 million years.

So accidentally came across a sieve such a tooth. Shark tooth. It was interesting that there were land animals around, and then suddenly sea fish— said Bogdan Zaitsev.

A researcher added that the cave itself has been developed from limestone with an age of 45 million years. In this stone, in particular, there are the remains of ancient marine animals. According to Zaitsev, these remains are much older than the cave itself.

The shells that consist of calcium carbonate are very easily dissolved with limestone. And the teeth are dense, they consist of such a mineral called apatitis. Apatitis does not dissolve. Accordingly, from this limestone, when the cave was formed, limestone disappeared, the tooth fell and hit the layers that we are now studying— said the paleontologist.

We sent a photograph from St. Petersburg State University to determine what kind of shark species this is and how old he is. And he has already confirmed that such fish lived 45 million years ago— said the employee of the complex «Tavrida Cave.»

The paleontological expedition will last until September. This year, scientists plan to continue the study of the village of Zuya Zuya recently opened in the vicinity deep -sea lake. And also check those corridors of the cave that did not have time to see earlier.

In May of this year, it became known that in the vicinity of the Bakhchisarai district Ancient fossils were found: Ammonites — extinct head -to -legged mollusks with an outer shell — and sea hedgehog, which are about 127 million years old.

source: RIA Novosti Crimea