Unexpected Shark Teeth Find Their Way into the Rarest T. rex Skeleton
Imagine your favorite big‑foot dinosaur, the jaw‑dropping Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue, battling a giant shark in the Badlands of Utah…but, plot twist: no. In a shock that could make any dinosaur fan crack their skull, paleontologists recently discovered actual shark teeth buried inside the fossilized bones of Sue. No cinematic jaws‑bites here—just a totally real, prehistoric cousin of those raptorial teeth.
Where the Surprise Resides
- Sue’s\* remains, the most complete T. rex skeleton ever found, have been on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.
- While the museum quietly stored the leftover rock beneath its vault for years, a careful re‑examination turned up something shocking: teeth from a tiny freshwater shark called Galagadon nordquistae.
- These little guys were no giant whiskers off the top of a big sea‑monster—they measured about 1–2 feet (30–60 cm) long, with teeth smaller than a grain of sand.
What That Means for Sue
As Sue, the mighty 40‑foot predator, crashed into the South Dakota river nearly 67 million years ago, the limestone in which she lay was a buffet of contemporaries—freshwater fish, amphibians, and apparently, these modest sharks. If Galagadon ever bumped into Sue, it was likely when the dinosaur relaxed for a water break. A paleontologist from North Carolina State reminds us that a T. rex with its massive head submerged in a river might have startled a little shark for a moment.
The shark’s teeth are noticeably quirky, sporting a broad “apron” at their base and three uneven points—so much so that one researcher compared them to the familiar shape of the 80s arcade game “Galaga.” It’s a fitting, if tongue‑in‑cheek, nod to the genus name.
Some Other Sharky Insights
Scientists aren’t stopping there. They’re also chasing fossils of at least a second species of freshwater shark that once lived in Sue’s watery world. Although most sharks today inhabit saltwater, a couple of freshwater species—and many that venture between sea and land—remind us that the ancient T. rex’s river might have been a gateway to a flowing inland sea 100 miles away.
All this translates into a kind of “nature’s own detective story”: one giant predator, a handful of tiny companions, and an accidental treasure trove that shows Sue’s world was far more diverse than we’d imagined. After all, even the fiercest dinosaur had to share its habitat with a few shy river sharks.
Bottom line? Science is full of delightful surprises. Even the biggest monsters aren’t alone at the water’s edge.
