Fossilized Shark Tooth Specimen: Extinct Great White Shark

This particular shark tooth is an example of an extinct great white shark tooth. The extinct great white, or Carcharodon Hastalis shark tooth is approximately 4-10 million year old, and was found during the Miocene period. It is most easily discerned from other shark teeth by its wide, and triangular crown and smooth edges. If a shark loses a tooth while biting into something, another tooth from the second row would replace the missing tooth within four minutes. Thus many teeth were lost over the lifetime of a shark. Some fossilized shark teeth are found in phosphate mines, while others are collected by divers. A fossil shark tooth is easy to tell from a modern day shark tooth as a fossil shark tooth is made of stone; the modern tooth is not. May you enjoy your fossil, as it is a scientific find as well as a link to our distant past. Fossils are to be treasured and preserved for future generations.