Students will be amazed to hold a tooth that once belonged to a prehistoric sawfish!
This fossil dates to the Albian age of the Early Cretaceous, approximately 100–113 million years ago. Sawfish still exist today, and are some of the largest known fish species. They are identifiable by their long snout which is lined on either side with sharp teeth called “denticles”.
The tooth you’ll receive comes from the rostral snout of a sawfish in the Onchopristis family, one of the earliest sawfish. The species grew up to 6.6 ft (2 m) long and likely had electroreceptors in it to detect prey and may have even raked its barbed denticles through the aquatic floor to snag food. Its full body grew up to 26 ft (8 m) long.
