Resurrecting the Shark : A Scientific Obsession and the Mavericks Who Solved the Mystery of a 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil

**A prehistoric mystery. A fossil so mesmerizing that it boggled the minds of scientists for more than a century―until a motley crew of modern day shark fanatics decided to try to bring the monster-predator back to life.** In 1993, Alaskan artist and paleo-shark enthusiast Ray Troll stumbled upon the weirdest fossil he had ever seen―a platter-sized spiral of tightly wound shark teeth. This chance encounter in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County sparked Troll’s obsession with __Helicoprion__, a mysterious monster from deep time. In 2010, tattooed undergraduate student and returning Iraq War veteran Jesse Pruitt became seriously smitten with a __Helicoprion__ fossil in a museum basement in Idaho. These two bizarre-shark disciples found each other, and an unconventional band of collaborators grew serendipitously around them, determined to solve the puzzle of the mysterious tooth whorl once and for all. __Helicoprion__ was a Paleozoic chondrichthyan about the size of a modern great white shark, with a circular saw of teeth centered in its lower jaw―a feature unseen in the shark world before or since. For some ten million years, long before the Age of Dinosaurs, __Helicoprion__ patrolled the shallow seas around the supercontinent Pangaea as the apex predator of its time. Just a few tumultuous years after Pruitt and Troll met, imagination, passion, scientific process, and state-of-the-art technology merged into an unstoppable force that reanimated the remarkable creature―and made important new discoveries. In this groundbreaking book, Susan Ewing reveals these revolutionary insights into what __Helicoprion__ looked like and how the tooth whorl functioned―pushing this dazzling and awe-inspiring beast into the spotlight of modern science. 24 pages of color illustrations A prehistoric mystery. A fossil so mesmerizing that it boggled the minds of scientists for more than a century—until a motley crew of modern day shark fanatics decided to try to bring the monster-predator back to life. In 1993, Alaskan artist and paleo-fish freak Ray Troll stumbled upon the weirdest fossil he had ever seen—a platter-sized spiral of tightly wound shark teeth. This chance encounter in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County sparked Troll's obsession with Helicoprion , a mysterious monster shark from deep time. In 2010, tattooed amateur strongman and returning Iraq War veteran Jesse Pruitt was also severely smitten by a Helicoprion fossil in a museum basement in Idaho. These two bizarre-shark disciples found each other, and an unconventional band of collaborators grew serendipitously around them, determined to solve the puzzle of the tooth whorl once and for all. Helicoprion was a Paleozoic chondrichthyan about the size of a modern great white shark, with a circular saw of teeth centered in its lower jaw—a feature unseen in the shark world before or since. For some ten million years, long before the Age of Dinosaurs, Helicoprion patrolled the shallow seas around the supercontinent Pangaea as the apex predator of its time. Just a few tumultuous years after Pruitt and Troll met, imagination, passion, scientific process, and state-of-the-art technology merged into an unstoppable force that reanimated the remarkable creature—and made important new discoveries. In this groundbreaking book, Susan Ewing reveals these revolutionary insights into what Helicoprion looked like and how the tooth whorl functioned—pushing this dazzling and awe-inspiring beast into the spotlight of modern science A prehistoric mystery. A fossil so mesmerizing, it would boggle the minds of scientists for more than a century...until a motley crew of modern day shark fanatics decide to try to bring this monster shark back to life In 1993, Alaskan artist and paleo-fish freak Ray Troll stumbled upon the weirdest fossil he had ever seen—a platter-sized spiral of tightly wound shark teeth. This chance encounter in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County sparked Troll's obsession with Helicoprion, a mysterious monster shark from deep time. In 2010, tattooed amateur strongman and returning Iraq War veteran Jesse Pruitt was also severely smitten by a Helicoprion fossil in a museum basement in Idaho. These two bizarre-shark disciples found each other, and an unconventional band of collaborators grew serendipitously around them, determined to solve the puzzle of the tooth whorl once and for all. Helicoprion was a bizarre Paleozoic chondrichthyan... "In 1993 Alaskan artist and paleo-fish enthusiast, Ray Troll, stumbled upon the weirdest fossil he had ever seen in a museum -- a platter-sized spiral of tightly wound shark teeth, from the Helicoprion, a mysterious monster from deep time. In 2010 the undergraduate student, Jesse Pruitt, became seriously smitten with a Helicoprion fossil in a museum basement in Idaho. Together, they researched and were able, with others, to reanimate this awe-inspiring beast."--From jacket flap. "In 1993 Alaskan artist and paleo-fish enthusiast, Ray Troll, stumbled upon the weirdest fossil he had ever seen in a museum-- a platter-sized spiral of tightly wound shark teeth, from the Helicoprion, a mysterious monster from deep time. In 2010 the undergraduate student, Jesse Pruitt, became seriously smitten with a Helicoprion fossil in a museum basement in Idaho. Together, they researched and were able, with others, to reanimate this awe-inspiring beast"-- Dust jacket Lasting impressions The shark bites Right shark, wrong name First, cousins Whorl of fortune Karpinsky makes the call: helicoprion A shiver of sharks Signs of life The art of obsession The new guard Resurrection, one slice at a time Coming to terms To the summit and beyond Shark is a verb.