Shark-Tooth Pattern

Not to be confused with the Shark Tooth.

Shark-Tooth Pattern
The Shark-Tooth Pattern in the museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Scientific name
Heliocoprion
Selling price		1,000 Bells
Main appearances
DnM AC e+ WW CF NL NH
Name in other languages  サメのはのかせき  鲨鱼牙齿化石  鯊魚牙齒化石  상어 이빨 화석  Mandibule d'hélicoprion  Mandibule d'hélicoprion  Mandíbula de tiburón  Mandíbula de tiburón  Mandibola di elicoprione  Зубы ископаемой акулы  Haizahnspirale  Haaientandkrans

The Shark-Tooth Pattern is a standalone fossil in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

At the museum

In New Horizons

"This shark-tooth pattern comes from the lower jaw of an ancient shark of the genus Helicoprion. Its teeth seem to have grown in a distinctive arrangement rather disturbingly termed a "tooth-whorl". I say "seem" because shark skeletons are made not of bone, but cartilage, except for their teeth. Consequently, their bodies are never preserved as fossils, and questions about their jaws remain unanswered. The size and placement in the stone of the shark's teeth are actually the only things we have to work with. Sometimes in research we must maintain a stiff upper lip, even in the absence of a stiff lower jaw!"

As an item

In New Horizons

Shark-Tooth Pattern
Interactable	No
Sell price	1,000 Bells
Colors	Beige   Brown
Size

Real-world information

Helicoprion was a shark-like fish that lived off the southwestern coast of Gondwana in the Early to Middle Permian. While it is more closely related to sharks and other cartilaginous fishes than the bony fishes, its closest living relatives are actually the chimaeras, or rat fish. Like most cartilaginous fish, Helicoprion's body would have decayed quickly. As such, the only fossils found so far have been those of its tooth whorl. First described in 1899, the tooth whorl had baffled paleontologists for over a century, with ideas for what part of the body it was on ranging from the snout to the dorsal fin, to (possibly the most famous early idea) the outside of the lower jaw. Finally, in 2013, researchers working with related species discovered that the tooth whorl in fact sits inside the lower jaw. The whorl grows as Helicoprion ages, with newer teeth growing on the outside while the older teeth get pushed towards the middle of the spiral.

More information on this topic is available at Wikipedia.

Names in other languages

	サメのはのかせき
	상어 이빨 화석 Sang-eo Ippal Hwaseok
	鲨鱼牙齿化石 / 鯊魚牙齒化石
	Зубы ископаемой акулы
	Haaientandkrans	Shark tooth wreath
	Haizahnspirale	Shark tooth spiral
	Mandíbula de tiburón	Shark jaw
	Mandibule d'hélicoprion
	Mandibola di elicoprione