Shark-tooth pattern

Shark-tooth pattern
The shark-tooth pattern in the museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Scientific name
Heliocoprion
Type		Standalone
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue 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 (known as the shark tooth prior to New Horizons) is a standalone fossil introduced in Animal Crossing: Wild World that appears in all subsequent games.

At the museum

In Wild World

"It is believed that sharks existed long before even dinosaurs appeared... However, a shark's skeleton is made from cartilage and is softer than bone. As a result, very few have survived as fossils, eh wot? Fortunately, we CAN research them when we find a shark tooth. Ah! Oh, so very sorry! I... I cannot help it, really. And that's the tooth! Hoo!"

In City Folk

"Capital! Unheard of! What a first-rate fossil! Sharks were actually around a long time before dinosaurs appeared on the scene, eh wot? They developed into the perfect predator, and since then they haven't changed a smidgen!"

In New Leaf

After donating the fossil in New Leaf, its plaque in the museum will read:

"The fossilized shark tooth has a distinctive serrated edge, like a steak knife. Sharks have existed since before the dinosaurs, but their appearance seems to have hardly changed at all. Their age actually puts them at a time even before plants had fully propagated over every continent."

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 Wild World

Shark tooth
Sell price	1,000 Bells
Colors	Gray   Brown
Theme	Old-school
Size

In City Folk

Shark tooth
Sell price	1,000 Bells
Colors	Gray   Brown
Theme	Retro
Size

In New Leaf

Shark tooth
Sell price	1,000 Bells
Colors	Gray   Brown
Theme	Unknown
Size

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