Large Otodus Shark Vertebra & Tooth Associated

This specimen was just acquired from one of our suppliers. We won't have it back in our warehouse to ship until Sept. 18th It is on sale until this date, so if you purchase it quickly you get a discount :)

This is a cool association of a large vertebrae and tooth of Otodus obliquus, an extinct giant mackerel shark. The vertebra is 3" wide and the tooth is 2.45" long. Both would have come from a large shark, maybe in the 25-30 foot size range.

The fossils of Otodus indicate that it was a very large, predatory shark. Based on the size of the largest known teeth and vertebrae Otodus may have reached a maximum size of nearly 40 feet in length. Otodus likely preyed upon marine mammals, large bony fish, and other sharks. It was among the top predators of its time.

Scientists determined that Otodus evolved into the genus Carcharocles, given substantial fossil evidence in the form of transitional teeth. Some teeth have been excavated from the sediments of the Potomac River in Maryland, USA, Ypres clay in Belgium, and western Kazakhstan, which are morphologically very similar to Otodus teeth but with lightly serrated cusplets and a serrated cutting edge. These transitional fossils suggest a worldwide evolutionary event, and support the theory that Otodus eventually evolved into Otodus aksuaticus and thus initiated the Carcharocles lineage.