Fossil shark tooth from Belgium

C. Hastilas shark

This shark's tooth is from the extinct Cosmopolitan Hastalis shark that lived in the Miocene. The tooth was found in the now closed harbour area of Antwerp. The shark could grow up to 10 metres long and populated the seas between 3.5 and 23 million years ago.

The successful shark

Sharks have been around on Earth for a long time. The oldest fossils found date from about 450 million years ago. The shark is a predator that occurs in different sizes. Our seas are still richly filled with sharks. This makes this predator one of the most successful species on earth.