Shark

When you have fossil shark teeth on your wish list it is pretty exciting to get up close to Jaws.

The Museum of Natural History was given the head of a great white shark that was caught in a fishing weir in the Bay of Fundy. I had no idea what a fishing weir was until today. I found a very informative post about fishing weirs and how they are used in the Bay of Fundy, if you are interested click here.

While I feel bad that the shark was caught and died, I am happy that in the end it was used in an educational setting.

We were able to see it at the museum during the cleaning process and had a wonderful conversation about how they prepare the specimen and clean it for display. Fionna was very happy to see it today and loved the way it was displayed.

We learned that they are the only sharks to have serrated teeth on both top and bottom. It was amazing to see the rows of teeth down inside the jaw just waiting their turn in the line up.

After all our usual stops around the museum Fionna was able to spend some time with her favorite Naturalist, while she cleaned out the turtle tank, or at least tried to while answering all of Fionna's questions.  We are so lucky to have this museum so close to home. And so fortunate that Fionna has found someone at the museum to talk with and look up to... Thanks Mary!