Paleontologists name extinct shark after Galaga

A group of American paleontologists have named an extinct shark after Galaga, the 1981 fixed-shooter arcade game. That is an old game, but the Galagadon nordquistae is even slightly older, namely about 67 million years old.

In a paper on the shark, lead author Terry Gates, a paleontologist and senior lecturer at North Carolina State University, explains that its scientific name comes from two people. Nate Bourne, a seventh grade teacher who also works at the local natural history museum, thought the teeth were the same shape as the Galaga spaceship. The second person, Karen Nordquist, helped Gates dig up the shark.

Gates tells NC State in a note that the Galagadon is related to the Megalodon, but was many times smaller. “The Galagadon didn’t grab prey like the tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops or other dinosaurs it encountered. This shark had teeth suitable for catching small fish and crushing snails and crustaceans,” Gates said.

The shark dates back to the Cretaceous Period, when South Dakota was still made up of swamps. More than twenty-four teeth have been found from the Galagadon. These were found near the ‘Sue’ excavation site, the most complete t-rex skeleton found to date.

The teeth of the old shark and the spaceship from Galaga. We don’t even know which one is which