'Missing link' in shark evolution found in 380m-year-old Australian fossil

Fossilised skeleton found in Kimberley shows sharks once had bone cells within cartilage, suggesting a sophisticated evolutionary path

A 380m-year-old fossil found in Western Australia has been hailed as the "missing link" in shark evolution, revealing the marine predator has a far more sophisticated lineage than previously thought.

The fossilised skeleton, jaws and teeth, found at the Gogo formation in the Kimberley region of WA, shows the ancient shark had a small amount of bone as well as cartilage.