The shape of Pochita's face bears a passing resemblance to the serrated snouts that define this entire family of sharks.
Setenta millones de años después de que un tiburón sierra surcara los mares cretácicos del sur del mundo, sus dientes fosilizados emergieron de la Patagonia chilena para revelar una especie que la ciencia nunca había nombrado. El equipo del paleontólogo Javier Villafaña, de la Universidad de Chile, bautizó formalmente al hallazgo como Pristiophorus austroatlantico, aunque le otorgó un apodo que cruza las fronteras entre la taxonomía y la cultura popular: Pochita, en honor simultáneo a un personaje del manga Chainsaw Man y a la paleontóloga Patricia Canales. En ese gesto pequeño pero significativo se revela algo más amplio: que el entusiasmo humano y el rigor científico no son fuerzas opuestas, sino compañeros posibles en la tarea de recuperar el pasado.
- Los depósitos de Magallanes guardaron durante setenta millones de años los dientes de una criatura que ningún científico había documentado, hasta que un equipo chileno reconoció en ellos algo sin precedentes en el registro fósil.
- La tensión entre el lenguaje formal de la ciencia y la cultura popular se resuelve aquí de forma inusual: el nombre oficial en latín coexiste con un apodo sacado del anime, y ambos circulan sin anularse.
- El apodo Pochita ya viaja más rápido que la nomenclatura binomial, apareciendo en titulares de medios de paleontología y de cultura pop por igual, convirtiendo un hallazgo técnico en conversación pública.
- La Patagonia se consolida como uno de los territorios más fértiles para reconstruir la biodiversidad marina del Hemisferio Sur, y cada especie nueva encontrada allí amplía el mapa de lo que Gondwana albergó.
Hace setenta millones de años, un tiburón sierra de hocico plano y dientes afilados habitaba los mares cálidos que cubrían la actual Patagonia. Cuando murió, sus restos se hundieron en el sedimento y permanecieron allí, intactos, hasta que un equipo de paleontólogos chilenos los encontró en la región de Magallanes y comprendió que tenían ante sí algo que la ciencia nunca había registrado.
El hallazgo fue liderado por Javier Villafaña, del Laboratorio de Paleobiología de la Universidad de Chile. El análisis de los dientes fosilizados —estructuras tan particulares que no coincidían con ninguna especie conocida— permitió describir formalmente una nueva: Pristiophorus austroatlantico. Así funciona la paleontología: se mide, se compara, y a veces se descubre que lo que se sostiene en las manos no tiene nombre todavía.
Pero este descubrimiento tiene un giro poco habitual. El equipo eligió para su tiburón sierra un apodo que ya circula tanto en revistas científicas como en comunidades de fans del anime: Pochita. El nombre rinde homenaje a dos cosas a la vez: al pequeño demonio con motosierra del manga Chainsaw Man, y a la paleontóloga Patricia Canales, colega del grupo. Villafaña explicó la elección con honestidad: varios integrantes del equipo eran fanáticos de la serie, querían un nombre memorable, y además el hocico serrado del animal guarda un parecido visual con el personaje.
Es un puente tendido entre mundos que rara vez se tocan. La nomenclatura formal permanece intacta en bases de datos y publicaciones académicas, pero el apodo Pochita ha viajado más lejos y más rápido, humanizando el trabajo sin comprometer su rigor. Los tiburones sierra como linaje han sobrevivido millones de años; sus parientes vivos aún habitan los océanos. La especie descubierta se extinguió con los cambios del Cretácico, pero su existencia, ahora nombrada, añade un hilo más al tapiz de la antigua biodiversidad del Hemisferio Sur.
Seventy million years ago, in the warm waters that covered what is now Patagonia, a sawshark moved through the ancient seas of the southern Pacific. It had a long, flat snout edged with sharp teeth—a creature perfectly adapted to its world. When it died, its bones sank into sediment. They remained there, undisturbed, until a team of Chilean paleontologists found them in the Magallanes region and recognized something no scientist had ever documented before.
The discovery belongs to a new species, formally christened Pristiophorus austroatlantico. The research team, led by paleontologist Javier Villafaña at the University of Chile's Paleobiology Laboratory, identified the specimen through careful analysis of its fossilized teeth—structures so distinctive they could belong to nothing else in the scientific record. This is how paleontology works: you find a bone, you measure it, you compare it to everything known, and sometimes you find yourself holding evidence of a creature that has never been named.
But this discovery carries an unusual twist. The team gave their sawshark a nickname that has rippled across both scientific journals and anime fan communities: Pochita. The name honors two things at once. One is a character from the manga and anime series Chainsaw Man—a small demon with a chainsaw embedded in its head, beloved by fans of the work. The other is Patricia Canales, a paleontologist who worked alongside the research team. Villafaña explained the choice with disarming honesty: some members of the team were fans of the anime, and they wanted a name that would stick in people's minds. More than that, he noted, the shape of Pochita's face—that distinctive saw-like protrusion—bears a passing resemblance to the serrated snouts that define this entire family of sharks.
It is a small act of bridge-building between worlds that rarely touch. The formal nomenclature of science remains rigorous and unchanged: Pristiophorus austroatlantico will appear in journals and databases under that Latin binomial. But the nickname Pochita has already traveled further, appearing in headlines across specialized media devoted to both paleontology and pop culture. It humanizes the work without compromising it. It suggests that the people who study ancient life can also love contemporary stories, and that there is no contradiction in that.
Sawsharks themselves are a lineage that has endured. These cartilaginous fish—relatives of sharks and rays—are defined by their elongated, flattened snouts bordered with teeth that function almost like a saw. The species Villafaña's team discovered is extinct, lost to whatever changes transformed the Cretaceous seas into something else. But the family survives. Living sawsharks still inhabit the world's oceans, descendants of a design that has proven resilient across millions of years.
The Magallanes deposits where this fossil was found are becoming increasingly important to paleontologists trying to reconstruct the deep history of marine life in the Southern Hemisphere. Each new species discovered there adds another thread to the tapestry of Gondwana's ancient biodiversity. The discovery of Pristiophorus austroatlantico—Pochita—is one more piece of that larger story, a reminder that the past is still speaking to us, and that sometimes the people who listen are willing to let their enthusiasm show.
Notable Quotes
We wanted a name that would be memorable and reflected our enthusiasm. The face of Pochita, a small demon with a chainsaw in its head, can resemble the serrated snouts of these prehistoric sharks if you use your imagination.— Javier Villafaña, paleontologist
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the team decide to give a 70-million-year-old shark a nickname from a manga series?
Because some of them loved the series, and because naming things is partly about making them memorable. The formal name is what goes in the scientific record, but the nickname is what makes people actually care.
But doesn't that risk trivializing the discovery?
I don't think so. Villafaña was clear about why they chose it—the shape of Pochita's face actually does resemble the serrated snout of the sawshark. It's not random. And it honors Patricia Canales too. It's a way of saying: we're serious scientists, and we also have lives outside the lab.
What makes this particular sawshark species new? What did the teeth tell them?
The fossilized teeth had characteristics they'd never seen before in any known species. That's how you know you've found something genuinely undocumented. The teeth are often the most durable part of a fish skeleton, so they're usually what survives millions of years.
Why does Magallanes matter so much for this kind of research?
It's a window into what the southern oceans looked like during the Cretaceous. Gondwana—that ancient supercontinent—is gone now, but its fossil record is still there. Every new species found in Magallanes adds to the picture of how marine life evolved in the Southern Hemisphere.
Do you think the pop culture angle will actually bring younger people into paleontology?
It might. There's something disarming about scientists who are willing to be openly enthusiastic about things outside their field. It says: you can love anime and study ancient sharks. You don't have to choose.