Žraločí zuby, Natural monument in Vrapice, Czech Republic.
Žraločí zuby is a protected natural monument in Vrapice featuring a small quarry with glauconitic sandstones and claystones bearing marine deposits from the Lower Turonian period. The exposed layers stand about 4 meters high and reveal fossil remains of marine organisms preserved from when a sea covered the region.
The protected area was designated in 1995 to preserve sediments from an ancient sea that covered the region during the late Mesozoic era. The layers represent a former seabed and were formed during the age of dinosaurs.
Scientists and researchers regularly conduct field studies at this location, examining shark fossils, vertebrae, clams, starfish, and sponge specimens.
Access is only via unmarked paths in the middle of Vrapický les, about 750 m southwest of the church of St Nicholas in Vrapice; the Vrapice–Čabárna educational trail passes the spot but its marking is sparse and unreliable for orientation. There is no car park at the site, so visitors should expect a walk through the forest and bring their own orientation aids.
The site lies in an abandoned siliceous quarry, not a marked reserve with facilities; access is only by unmarked paths, and the sparse waymarking of the Vrapice–Čabárna mining-history trail is not enough for orientation. Finds include teeth, vertebrae and coprolites of at least 12 shark species, plus foraminifera, bivalves, starfish and sponges.
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