11.1" Cretaceous Shark Fossil - Hjoula, Lebanon

The sharks coming out of the Hjoula and Hakel deposits of Lebanon are to this date squalimorph sharks, or saw sharks. These sharks are characterized by their long, slender bodies and pointed, trident-like teeth. They were benthic in nature, shying away from open-water hunting and preferring smaller prey, which they located using vibrations and their highly developed sense of smell. Only one recognized family of saw sharks still exists: the Pristiophorids. Modern saw sharks have been observed at over nine feet long, though Lebanese fossils top out around three feet in length.

The discovery of amazingly preserved marine fossils near Hjoula, Lebanon dates back many centuries. In fact, they were first mentioned in writing by Herodotus, over 450 years before the birth of Christ. The first scientific work on these localities began in the 1800s: these deposits have been meticulously quarried by several Lebanese families for over a century. We purchase our specimens directly from one of these families.

These deposits represent a warm, shallow sea of the Middle Cretaceous, and have yielded over 70 types of fish and numerous other genera found nowhere else in the world. The preservation on many of these specimens is truly amazing: many examples of soft bodied preservation have been found.