5.85" Fossil Shark (Hybodus) Dorsal Spine - Kem Kem Beds, Morocco

Fossil Shark (Hybodus) Dorsal Spine - Kem Kem Beds, Morocco #277677

This is a 5.85" long fossil dorsal spine of a shark (Hybodus obtusus). It comes from the Late Cretaceous-aged Kem Kem Beds near Taouz, Morocco. These spines are relatively delicate so they are almost always fractured while in the ground or during collection. This one has a couple crack repairs along its length and some gap fill restoration along one side.

Hybodus was a small shark that grew up to 2 meters in length and was likely an opportunistic predator. It had a streamlined shape ideal for hunting down fast prey and two different types of teeth: sharp cutting teeth for catching prey and flatter grinding teeth for crushing. This combination may have been the key to Hybodus' success.

A paper on Hybodus spines can be found below.

Growth And Form of Finspines In Hybodont Sharks

A complete fossil of Hybodus from Germany showing placement of spine. Image under GNU Free Documentation License

The Kem Kem Group is famous for yielding a diverse Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage, including fish, reptiles, and dinosaurs such as Spinosaurus. These fossils are found in a thin bed that outcrops around the edge of a large plateau near Taouz, Morocco. Local miners collect these fossils by digging narrow tunnels by hand into this plateau, following the layer.

A paper on this assemblage can be found at: Vertebrate assemblages from the early Late Cretaceous of southeastern Morocco: An overview

One of the tunnels dug into the Kem Kem beds by local miners following the productive fossil beds.