Carcharias (Extinct Sand Tiger) Shark Tooth - Eocene

About Sand Tiger Sharks (Carcharias)

Carcharias is a genus of shark belonging to the Odontaspididae family, also known as sand sharks. All of the sand shark family have gone completely extinct, with one exception: Carcharias taurus, the sand tiger shark. On average, most Carcharias species were about 8 to 10 feet in length. Carcharias sharks are very similar to their living mackerel shark kin, with long streamlined bodies and sharp serrated teeth meant for feeding on other fishes. Carcharias species began to emerge in the Cretaceous period over 66 million years ago. With the exception of the aforementioned sand tiger shark, all Carcharias species have been extinct as of 12,000 years ago. As sharks, they lost and replaced their numerous teeth hundreds if not thousands of times throughout their lives. Because of this, their teeth are fairly common finds in many parts of the world.