Humans Are Descended From Sharks, Scientists Reveal
Scientists believe an ancient variety of shark may explain why humans have jaws.
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Scientists have revealed that an ancient shark with paired spines and bony armor may be humans’ earliest ancestor. The Paleozoic fossil was retrieved from a site in Shiqian County in Guizhou Province, South China. With the finding, scientists have come to understand the existence of human sharks.
The specimen is named Fanjingshania renovata, after the UNESCO World Heritage Site Fanjingshan. A bizarre fish with bony armor and paired spines, unlike anything scientists have come across today. Human sharks are just now one of the many revelations that shocked scientists and could bring humans closer to aquatic life.
The revelation that humans may be the descendants of sharks is funny, considering that not too long ago, Florida beachgoers were surprised by the sudden appearance of three sharks during Memorial Day weekend. Video of the encounter shows people reacting not in panic but in pure shock and excitement. People quickly pointed out that the aquatic fish were scalloped hammerhead sharks.
The sharks were right next to the beachgoer’s boat, circling around and getting quite personal with people. If humans were indeed the descendants of sharks, how do we explain the predator/prey relationship we have towards these aquatic animals? Could it be interpreted that humans fear even their ancestors?
As hilarious as it may seem, it does point out that we still have quite a bit of research to do. Human sharks may even be why sharks were massing off the coast of the U.S. in 2021. In addition to sharks swimming toward the East coast, there were also turtles.
Fanjingshania hails from a group of animals known for their cartilage, not their bones. As noted by IFLScience, the working hypothesis is that Fanjingshania’s unusual traits may explain the “early evolutionary branch of primitive chondrichthyans.” The findings may help us understand more about Jaw fishes.
Dr. Ivan J. Sansom from the University of Birmingham concluded that the discovery “puts into question the existing models of vertebrae evolution.” He also stated that the discovery would have a “profound impact” on the access of evolutionary rates in early vertebrates. These findings are exciting and could answer whether humans are indeed the descendants of sharks.
Despite all of this, it would still be quite weird for humans and sharks to have this close link. We commonly have described these creatures as predators, threats to our existence. But as it turns out, these creatures might be where we came from.
It’s even weirder, considering that we were once on the verge of having a volcano eruption full of mutated sharks. If humans are the descendants of sharks, then do humans suddenly start treating these aquatic animals differently? And what about the movie Jaws, was Steven Spielberg on to something when he made the film back in 1978?
Whatever the case, it’s interesting that humans and sharks may have this type of relationship. Only time will tell whether these findings do indeed tell us more about our evolutionary history. Knowing how the world works, scientists may discover that we are descendants of other aquatic species.
