The fossils were discovered in the Atacama region of Chile.
The regional Chilean newspaper El Diaro de Atacama reported on Saturday, 8 November, that a newly discovered genus and species of prehistoric shark, which was unearthed off the Bahia Inglesa Formation in Atacama, has been named after the iconic chainsaw dog-like demon, Pochita, from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s dark fantasy shonen series, “Chainsaw Man”.
Pochiatserra Patriciacanalae–a tribute to pop culture and paleontology
The prehistoric shark genus and species, which was dated to the Late Miocene period, was discovered through the analysis of Neogene elasmobranch microfossils. Nine small teeth, which were different from all previously-known microfossils, and was deduced to be that of a sawshark from the Pristiophoridae family, led to the creation of the new extinct genus and species: the Pochitaserra Patriciacanalae.
The discovery, which also features in a scholarly article that was published on 7 November, titled “Diving into the Past: A New Assemblage of Neogene elasmobranch Microfossils from the eastern Pacific of South America. Papers in Palaeontology”, detailed the discovery, which was extracted from over 300 kilograms of sediment that contained the microfossils.
The decision to name the new genus and species Pochitaserra Patriciacanale was inspired by two factors, according to the El Diaro de Atacama reports. First, the design of Chainsaw Man’s Pochita, with a chainsaw blade jutting out of its snout, was reminiscent to the sawsharks, creatively uniting paleontology with contemporary pop culture.
On the other hand, the discovery also honours the Chilean paleontologist and researcher Dr. Patricia Canales, hence the Patriciacanalae.
The team that made this discovery are: Jaime A. Villafaña, Jorge Campos-Medina, Martín F. Chávez-Hoffmeister, Selene Araya, Benjamin Araya, Leandro Ledezma, Yusse Hernandez, Héctor A. Ramos-Rojas, Jorge Bolomey, Matias Tejo, Francisca Vera, Ana N. Campoy, Rosmery Arotaipe, Yara Bugueño, Bianca Antiquera, and Marcelo M. Rivadeneira.
Chainsaw Man has been making waves with its latest release, the feature film “Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc”, which has become a global sensation since its premiere in September. The film has recently banked over US$150 million in earnings worldwide.