Miner finds 300 million year old shark fossil
April 11th, 2011 - 11:49 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattKentucky, April 11 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The University of Kentucky has put on display a 300-million-year-old shark fossil which was found by a miner. The jawbone was found in January in an underground mine. The large jawbone is one of the rarest fossils ever found.
The discovery was made by Jay Wright. The animal is believed to be from the Edestus genus. The animal lived in the oceans that once covered what is now Kentucky.
25-year-old Wright made the discovery while drilling to bolt a roof about 700 feet beneath the surface. According to Wright, he was shocked when he found the massive structure. Wright found the fossil in February.
He granted an interview to The Lexington Herald Leader on Friday and spoke about how he found the fossil. He said that was did not initially know what he had found but knew that it has to be something important.
As it later turned out, Wright had made a massive discovery. Experts say the sheer size of the fossil makes it a rare find. The fossil has been placed on display in the University of Kentucky’s lobby of UK’s Mines and Minerals building.
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Tags: discovery, fossil, fossils, genus, jawbone, lexington herald leader, massive structure, mines and minerals, oceans, sheer size, university of kentucky