MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It may sound unbelievable at first, but scientists have found evidence of sharks in Kentucky. However, these sharks roamed the waters a very long time ago.
Researchers discovered what they call a treasure trove of shark fossils deep inside Mammoth Cave.
“I was extremely surprised to be honest,” said J.P. Hodnett, a paleontologist with Maryland-National Capital Parks.
Hodnett has made several trips into the cave to help find and identify the fossilized shark teeth and other remains. He said the cave’s environment has preserved the fossils well.
“It's amazing that no one's ever recognized fossil sharks from this bed before,” he said.
The fossils were found embedded in the cave limestone, well off the tourist trails.
“You actually have to go deep into the cave, get in kayaks and paddle out in an underground river to get to a landing where the floor of the cave is just littered with sharks’ teeth,” Hodnett said.
“We're able to carefully use dental tools, usually, to pick them out and collect them,” added Rick Toomey, Mammoth Cave National Park’s cave resource management specialist.
Visitors such as the Zehnder family from Georgia said they were surprised when they learned that Mammoth Cave contains shark fossils.
“I would think that — sharks — you would find those on the beach or more close to the ocean,” said Chip Zehnder. “We're pretty far inland.”
But scientists say, at one time, this part of Kentucky was actually underwater, and the climate was more like the Bahamas.
“We would have been world-class snorkeling and scuba diving 330 million years ago,” Toomey said.
So far, scientists have found more than 40 different shark species, some of which were previously unknown.
“Right now, we have confirmed at least six brand new species of sharks coming from Mammoth Cave,” Hodnett said.
The discoveries at Mammoth Cave are literally making history.
“Part of our mission is to advance science and history and study,” Toomey said. “And that's what this has done.”
When the pandemic is over, the park plans to open an exhibit and put some of the fossils on public display.
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