The cannibal in the ocean

I’ve just learnt about a new shark – Orthacanthus – and maybe it’s Latin name will give you a clue as to why I hadn’t heard of it before: it’s extinct. But even when animals are long gone, the mysteries they leave in the ripples behind them continue to fascinate scientists. And all of us. So what what was Orthacanthus? Imagine a long, eel-like body, and narrow, pointed teeth. These prehistoric sharks were xenacanthids – inhabitants of the Lower Carboniferous period 260 million years ago. They...