Examination of shark-tooth weapons from the 19th century indicates that two types of sharks, the spot-tail and dusky, once had a strong presence in the Gilbert Island reefs of the Central Pacific, where they can no longer be found.
The discovery of the extinct sharks was made by a team of researchers from the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago and Columbia University, New York. The researchers feel that the results, published in the journal PLoS One, will aid in the evaluation of ecological conservation measures.
"There was an amazing array of weapons, from shark tooth brass knuckles to lances that were about 15 feet long," lead author Joshua Drew told Discovery News. "We don't know exactly when they were first made, but we know that when the first Western people wrote about the Gilbert Islanders in the 1840s, they remarked about their weaponry."
The researchers came to their conclusion by examining high-resolution photographs of the teeth and matching them with known shark data. By doing so, they determined that the weapons were created as a result of hunting eight shark species. The results indicated that the spot-tail and dusky species were hunted until they became extinct in the area.
"We're losing species before we even know that they existed," study researcher and ichthyologist at Columbia University Joshua Drew said. "That just resonates with me as fundamentally tragic."
Sharks have long played a key role in the culture of the Gilbert Islands, being featured in Kiribati myths and rituals. The researchers hope that the discovery will lead to increased conservation efforts in the Gilbert Island region.
"Kiribati, the country within which the Gilberts lie, is already one of the most progressive countries, and I think highlighting how their traditional culture can be tied to conservation will only help them to continue to be at the head of the pack when it comes to marine conservation," Drew said.
