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Four teeth from the rostrum of a sawfish collected from Al Wakrah
© Qatar National Museum
Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Object Name: Sawfish Teeth
Period: Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Date: 23–5 Million Years Ago
Dimensions: 6.06 cm (H) x 1.88 cm (W) x .92 cm (D)
Medium: fossil
Registration Number: QNM.2011.660.4.1-.4
Place Of Discovery/Findspot:  Jaw al-Hamar
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The object is a set of fossilized teeth that were once part of the rostrum, or snout, of a sawfish that lived in the waters of Qatar during the Eocene epoch, approximately 40 million years ago. Sawfish are a type of ray characterized by their long, flattened rostrum that is lined with sharp teeth, which they use to hunt and defend themselves.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT QATAR
At the beginning of this period, Qatar was covered by shallow tropical waters. Sea turtles, marine crocodiles and dugongs all lived here.
Later, the Qatar peninsula gradually rose above sea level. The climate was much more humid than today, and Qatar was covered by grasslands and rivers. Ancient species of freshwater crocodiles, ostriches, elephants and giraffes walked the land.
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Jaw al-Hamar
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Gallery 1