A new species of shark has been discovered in Australia that has bizarre molars very similar to human teeth. It is reported that sharks use these teeth to shred their prey.

The new species, called the horned shark (Heterodontus marshallae), is part of the order Heterodontiformes, classified by its unique body shapes and small horns protruding above its eyes.

“This series of sharks looks like fossils of long-extinct sharks because of similar morphology, including the spines. “But we now know they’re not closely related,” said Helen O’Neill, a fish biologist at the Australian National Fish Collection (ANFC). , stated in the statement of the Australian government agency CSIRO.

According to a study published in the journal Diversity, the newly identified species is found only in the waters of northwest Australia, about 125-229 meters below the surface.

They have multiple rows of teeth relative to their skulls and an unusually large jaw, allowing them to snack on creatures such as mollusks and crustaceans.

“The teeth of all species of horn sharks are very similar, but horn sharks’ teeth as a group are very different from most other sharks. ANFC senior curator and study co-author Will White said they have teeth to grasp in front of them and similar to large, molars as they move backwards through the jaw. He has teeth,” he said. “This group evolved to crush heavy prey using their molars.”

In November 2022, researchers were surveying seafloor habitats at Gascoyne Marine Park in Western Australia when they caught an adult male H. marshallae, which was about 53 centimeters long when measured from the tip of its snout to the tail fin.

“Compared to other Australian horn sharks, this species has a distinctive banding pattern,” said White. “This drawing is very similar to a zebra shark and was previously thought to be of the same species.”

However, zebra sharks (H. zebra) are found in shallow water and usually live near Indonesia or Japan, while H. marshallae prefers the deeper oceans surrounding the Australian coast. Prior to the 2022 expedition, researchers had studied six specimens from museum collections in Australia and an eggshell, later identified as H. marshallae, and were in the process of classifying this new species when they encountered a live male.

“We have one female specimen in our collection, but one male we collected on the trip,” said O’Neill, co-author of the study. “We prefer to use males for holotype sharks because they have claws, which are external reproductive organs that can differ between species and help us distinguish them.”

Researchers last described the Heterodontiformes shark species in 2005, and scientists suspect they may find more underwater predators.

“This order of sharks is very distinctive, with its large head, crests above its eyes, and spines in front of its dorsal fins,” White said. Said. “I have a feeling we’re going to see more specimens of this unique species because they are mostly in shallow waters…where research is important in most places. I could be wrong, though.”