How terrifying scissor-toothed dino-shark with ‘snout of doom’ ruled the sea shredding its prey 350MILLION years ago
A TERRIFYING dino-shark with fatal scissor teeth once ruled the sea shredding its prey into pieces.
The edestus is thought to have roamed the seas with its scary jagged teeth and humongous 22ft build over 350 million years ago.
It lived in the Carboniferous Period which has been dubbed as the “Golden Age of Sharks”.
Experts have now made an incredible discovery suggesting how the beast viciously culled its prey with its razor-sharp teeth.
A scientific study revealed Edestus’ defining characteristic was its frightening fangs – curved blades or “whorls” inside its enormous jaws.
Wayne M Itano from the University of Colorado says the Edestus “vertically thrashed” them to their death.
He believes it used its outwardly projecting teeth to crush its unfortunate victims into its dinner with up and down movements.
Itano’s research suggests the dino-shark could have slashed its prey in just seconds before ingesting it whole in one bite.
He thinks it’s the first animal known to approach its prey like this.
The expert analysed the surface of a tooth from the late Carboniferous era, with fossils preserved in Texas.
He found strange grooves perpendicular to the axis of the tooth’s crown, suggesting that Edestus thrashed its prey – and made tiny scratches on the surface of its teeth.
Itano also analysed a tooth from the outermost part of the whorl that had a broken and worn-away tip.
If Edestus did thrash its prey, its tip could break off by hitting a hard object.
This would expose the softer inner part of the tooth that is not protruding, later wearing it down.
A chilling artist’s impression shows the beast’s teeth protruding, unveiling a gruesome fleshy display of pink gum underneath.
This comes after China unveiled a chilling 16-foot robot shark with cameras and a sat-nav designed for ‘special missions’.
The one-of-a-kind bionic fish can do almost anything a real whale shark can do, including opening and closing its mouth and diving to depths of 65ft.
Its innovative high-tech features include optical cameras, sensors, sonar technology and a built-in navigation system.
The world’s first intelligent robotic whale shark is also equipped with a wireless remote control, programmed swimming and multi-joint bionic propulsion.
This means the fake fish, which is modelled on the gentle marine giants, can swim at speeds as fast as 1.6mph and dive to depths of a massive 65ft, according to CGTN.
