Shark or ray fossilised tooth

Photomacrograph of a shark or ray (Batoid) fossilised tooth. Stingrays belong to the Batoidea superfamily which contains cartilaginous fish such as skates and rays. Stingrays have developed flattened teeth with blunt crowns in order to crush their prey, hard-shelled crustaceans. Shark teeth vary in size and shape depending on the species and the type of prey they catch. After a tooth is lost or when the fish dies, teeth can become fossilised over thousands of years. Width of image is 5 mm.