Holy molars! 12,000 shark teeth found in gravel bed of Sea Life
display KEEPERS at a Sea Life centre were stunned when they
drained an ocean display for refurbishment and discovered more
than 12,000 SHARK TEETH hidden in the gravel sea bed. The fangs
had built up over nearly 25 years and will now be used by
scientists to study global warming. Boffins are hoping the
teeth, from Blackpool, will allow them to perfect a technique
that records ocean temperatures. Scientists at the University of
Birmingham have found that oxygen atoms in the discarded teeth
can reveal the temperature the sharks lived in. They hope when
the technique is perfected, it can be used to study fossilised
shark teeth — and determine the changing temperature of the
world’s oceans over the centuries. The latest haul means they
have enough specimens to complete the research. Establishing sea
temperatures of certain times can help explain sudden crashes of
marine species as well as sudden evolutionary spurts in
prehistoric times. Research lead