The weird species resembles both sharks and bony fish

Jun 5, 2013 08:50 GMT  ·  By

Fossil remains belonging to a 408-year-old spiny shark species have recently been dug out in Spain. This particular species of spiny sharks has never been documented before.

Paleontologists explain that these animals thrived during the Devonian period, and that their appearance resembled both that of present-day sharks and that of the bony fish we are all too familiar with.

Remains of these animals (i.e. scales, spines and ever shoulder bones) were unearthed in the town of Teruel and in a region south of the city of Zaragoza.

After analyzing the fossils they found, paleontologists concluded that they were left behind by juvenile spiny sharks.

According to The Examiner, members of this species measured no more than one meter (3.3 feet) in length when adults.

The species, which has never before been documented, was named Machaeracanthus goujeti.

The fossils that allowed researchers to identify it are presently kept at the Paleontology Museum of Zaragoza.