Sale NH0903 Lot 210

SAWFISH SHARK BILL
Onchopristis numidus
Late Cretaceous
Taouze Region, Morocco
The sawfish is one of the few prehistoric animals that have survived to the modern Era in a recognizable form. This is the remarkable rostrum from a Cretaceous sawfish shark, and boasts a total of 63 wicked curved barbs. A most unusual anatomical feature, the bill is covered with motion- and electro-sensitive pores that allow the fish to detect movement and even the heartbeat of potential prey buried in the ocean floor; it acts like a metal detector as the sawfish scours the bottom in search of hidden food. Once successful, it is then used as a digging tool to unearth the buried crustaceans. At other times, when a tasty morsel swims by, the normally lethargic sawfish will spring into action and slash furiously with its saw; the prey is generally stunned or sufficiently injured for the sawfish to devour it without much resistance. Sawfish have also been known to defend themselves with their rostrum against predators (like sharks) and intruding divers during modern times. The "teeth" protruding from the rostrum are not real teeth, but in fact modified denticle scales; the examples here boast an attractive range of coloring, from cream and orange, to red and deep chocolate brown. An especially fragile - and therefore rare - fossil, this fine example has undergone some sympathetic restoration, and the whole rostrum measures 29 inches long.
Estimate $2,200-2,800