Carboniferous shark eggs
pencil, 2015 and older
Among the many illustrations on fossil shark egg capsules that I have produced over the years, these sketches belong to the most beautiful. They express the search for understanding and imagination. Fayolia is an egg capsule that is found in Carboniferous and Permian layers and can be correlated with xenacanthid freshwater sharks, or stem-group chondrichthyans, to be correct. Admittedly, the hatchlings are completely speculative, and right now we learn what’s wrong about them (but that’s for a future study dealing with new material). Equally, the manner of hatching is also subject to speculation, though compared with some extant oviparous sharks. The capsules themselves and even bundles are directly known from the fossil record, as is true for the attachment to plants.