Scientists find fossil of a Megatooth Shark on the sea bed.

An international team of researchers reported the discovery of a fossil of a megatooth shark in the deep sea. The fossil—a single, well-preserved tooth—was found during a survey of the ocean floor near Cornwallis Island, a remote atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, located about 750 nautical miles (1,390 kilometers) southwest of the island of Hawaiʻi.

Fossil shark teeth are common in the fossil record, but so far, they were found buried in marine sediments or washed ashore after a storm reworked older deposits. Finding a fossil shark tooth in situ on the ocean floor is only possible if specific environmental conditions are met. The researchers suggest the tooth was preserved in its original position due to its location, a part of the sea floor where the currents prevent sediment buildup but are not strong enough to move or destroy the fossil. The site where the sample was collected was a relatively flat area on a ridge crest of an unnamed seamount at a depth of 3,090 meters. The fossil was found sticking out from a field of manganese-oxide nodules. Such nodules form in areas of the ocean floor with low sediment input and where chemical precipitation prevails.

After documenting the fossil, the researchers recovered it thanks to a remotely controlled underwater robot and identified it as an Otodus megalodon tooth.

The megatooth shark Otodus megalodon roamed the world's oceans approximately 2.3 to 3.6 million years ago.

Source: www.forbes.com

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