Fossil Shark Tooth, Angustidens
Gunmetal gray and beige shark tooth with sharp serrations and tip, nice luster, and an overall sleek and sharp shape to it. A very well preserved specimen!
Measurements: ~2-1/4" long x 2" wide
Location: South Carolina, U.S.A.
Time Period: Miocene ~ 20 Million Years Old
Also known as the Giant White shark, Carcharocles angustidens, or simply Angustidens, is a species of prehistoric megatoothed sharks in the genus Carcharocles, which lived during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs about 33 to 22 million years ago. This shark is related to another extinct shark, Megalodon. It is at times said that the Angustidens was the grandfather to the Megalodon. Angustidens was an apex predator, which means it had no likely predators (on top of the “food chain”) and likely preyed upon penguins, fish, dolphins, and even whales. Shark skeletons are composed of cartilage and not bone, and cartilage rarely gets fossilized. Hence, fossils of Angustidens bones are generally poorly preserved. Angustidens fossil shark teeth are easy to recognize as they have side cusplets and serrated blades. The fossilized teeth of Angustidens can reach lengths over five and a half inches.