Paleontologists in Peru on January 20 announced the 9-million-year-old fossil of a shark related to the great white shark.

The shark once lived in the southern Pacific Ocean and its favorite food was sardines.

The nearly complete fossil of the Cosmopolitodus Hastalis was found in the Pisco Basin, about 235 kilometers south of Lima, an arid desert area known for frequent discoveries of ancient marine life.

The shark is believed to be the ancestor of today’s great white shark. Although now extinct, its teeth once measured up to 8.9 centimeters long, while adults could grow to nearly 7 meters long, the size of a small boat.

Cesar Augusto Chacaltana, an engineer at the Peruvian Geological and Mining Insтιтute (INGEMMET), said during the presentation that the fossil of this shark species has an “exceptional fossilization” level.

At the event, researchers displayed the ancient remains of the shark in glᴀss cases, including a large jaw with sharp teeth.

“There are not many complete shark fossils like this in the world,” shared paleontologist Mario Urbina, revealing that they found a large number of sardines in the stomach of this shark species.

Urbina explained that when this shark species swam in the oceans, anchovies did not yet exist. Therefore, sardines became the main food source for marine predators at that time.

Last November, Peruvian paleontologists unveiled the fossil of a juvenile crocodile that lived more than 10 million years ago in the central Peruvian region that includes the Pisco Basin and the agricultural region of Ica.

In April, researchers also unveiled the fossil skull of the largest known river dolphin, which roamed the Amazon region about 16 million years ago.

The new discovery of Cosmopolitodus Hastalis not only provides further insight into the ancestors of the great white shark, but also sheds new light on the ancient marine ecosystems of the South Pacific.