Fossils "Young" shark species have a higher risk of extinction
Young shark species die out more often than older ones. This is the result of a new study by the University of Zurich. A species that has existed for less than four million years is considered young.
17.12.2025, 11:33
SDA
"Understanding the mechanisms of extinction, including the traits that make certain species more vulnerable than others, is crucial in a changing world," the researchers wrote in the study published on Wednesday in the journal "Proceedings B".
The researchers examined fossils of sharks and rays from the last 145 million years. They discovered a clear pattern: younger species that have only existed for a few million years are more susceptible to extinction than older species that have survived for much longer.
Mass extinction
During their investigation, the researchers also discovered evidence of previously unknown mass extinctions. While the sharp reduction in shark and ray species during the first mass extinction of the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago came as no surprise to the scientists, they discovered other, previously unknown extinction events.
"However, after many of them - for example at the end of the Cretaceous period - new species emerged," explains Catalina Pimiento Hernandez, Professor of Paleobiology at UZH, in the press release. "What is remarkable, however, is that this did not happen to the same extent after more recent events. The extinction around 30 million years ago was by far the most serious because hardly any new species were added afterwards," says the researcher.
Important for animal welfare
According to UZH, the data shows that not enough new species have emerged in the last 40 to 50 million years to compensate for losses from extinction events.
"Modern sharks and rays have already lost a lot of evolutionary potential and are now under additional pressure from humans. Knowing about their past helps us to realize how important it is to protect the species we still have today," study co-author Daniele Silvestro was quoted as saying in the press release.
In addition to UZH, ETH Zurich, the Institute of Bioinformatics in Basel and research institutions in the UK, Sweden, Chile and Germany were also involved in the study.
