Monster Texas Cretodus

[sharko69]

Got out to my favorite spot for an hour before dark last night. Started to walk down a small slope and saw it. I swear I looked back and away three times not believing what I was seeing. I have found a few monsters in this creek including a few over the two inch mark but could instantly see this one is crazy special. This is by far the largest Cretodus I have ever seen. Not only does it break 2.5 inches but if there were a record for weight, this may be the top. Thought my plesiosaur vert I found in January was my find of the year, think this may have just moved into first place.

[Notidanodon]

what a honker!

[Ludwigia]

Wowie zowie!!

[Shellseeker]

1 hour ago, sharko69 said:

Got out to my favorite spot for an hour before dark last night. Started to walk down a small slope and saw it. I swear I looked back and away three times not believing what I was seeing.

It is what I love about this hobby.  I go along seeking what-ever is there, and then the what_ever turns out to be beautiful and rare... Nothing beats the thrill.  Congrats!!!

[bthemoose]

What a tooth!

[Praefectus]

Nice find!

[ThePhysicist]

Holy mackerel shark! That is an incredible tooth.

[fossilsonwheels]

Monster Cretodus. Great find. 

[Planko]

That is one awesome tooth. 

[siteseer]

That's the biggest one I've ever seen from anywhere and it's in great shape.  That's the Cretodus of at least two lifetimes!  If that's not FOTM, there has to be a recount and some medical exams.

 

Jess

[sharko69]

9 hours ago, bthemoose said:

What a tooth!

Thank you!

[sharko69]

1 hour ago, siteseer said:

That's the biggest one I've ever seen from anywhere and it's in great shape.  That's the Cretodus of at least two lifetimes!  If that's not FOTM, there has to be a recount and some medical exams.

 

Jess

I will enter it for sure. Thank you. I have found some big teeth but this one is crazy. Only a quarter inch bigger than a few teeth I have found but the girth and weight is unreal.

[sharko69]

1 hour ago, siteseer said:

That's the biggest one I've ever seen from anywhere and it's in great shape.  That's the Cretodus of at least two lifetimes!  If that's not FOTM, there has to be a recount and some medical exams.

 

Jess

 

9 hours ago, bthemoose said:

What a tooth!

 

9 hours ago, Praefectus said:

Nice find!

 

8 hours ago, ThePhysicist said:

Holy mackerel shark! That is an incredible tooth.

 

8 hours ago, fossilsonwheels said:

Monster Cretodus. Great find. 

 

4 hours ago, Planko said:

That is one awesome tooth. 

Thank you!

[Andy B]

Beautiful

[erose]

FOTM? Got my vote!

[sharko69]

35 minutes ago, Andy B said:

Beautiful

 

29 minutes ago, erose said:

FOTM? Got my vote!

Thank you both!!

[siteseer]

On 3/6/2021 at 5:25 PM, sharko69 said:

I will enter it for sure. Thank you. I have found some big teeth but this one is crazy. Only a quarter inch bigger than a few teeth I have found but the girth and weight is unreal.

 

It's very unusual to find a tooth that big relative to what was considered giant before.  I have a 2 1/4-inch Cretodus lower.  It's in the range of the biggest teeth known for the genus but your tooth is another 1/4-inch bigger, 20% bigger in other words.  Typically, when someone finds something unusually large, it is by a much smaller increment and percentage.  It's the kind of thing that encourages people to think someone might find a 7 3/4 to 8-inch megalodon.

 

Sharks continue growing across their lives so it must have been gigantic not only for the genus but for any Cretaceous shark.  It might have been a 20-25 footer.  It's tough to say for sure when talking about an extinct form with no modern relatives - maybe even larger.  The thing to consider though is that great whites grow more slowly and their bodies fill out more after they age well into adulthood.  It's interesting that your tooth is not only unusually large but unusually broad as well.  I hope you find more of the teeth of that individual.  That one is easily the one to beat for shark tooth of the year and maybe the decade (century so far?).

 

Jess

 

[sharko69]

5 hours ago, siteseer said:

 

It's very unusual to find a tooth that big relative to what was considered giant before.  I have a 2 1/4-inch Cretodus lower.  It's in the range of the biggest teeth known for the genus but your tooth is another 1/4-inch bigger, 20% bigger in other words.  Typically, when someone finds something unusually large, it is by a much smaller increment and percentage.  It's the kind of thing that encourages people to think someone might find a 7 3/4 to 8-inch megalodon.

 

Sharks continue growing across their lives so it must have been gigantic not only for the genus but for any Cretaceous shark.  It might have been a 20-25 footer.  It's tough to say for sure when talking about an extinct form with no modern relatives - maybe even larger.  The thing to consider though is that great whites grow more slowly and their bodies fill out more after they age well into adulthood.  It's interesting that your tooth is not only unusually large but unusually broad as well.  I hope you find more of the teeth of that individual.  That one is easily the one to beat for shark tooth of the year and maybe the decade (century so far?).

 

Jess

 

Thank you! I have found a total of eight 2 inch plus Cretodus teeth and all but two are from this general location including three teeth over 2 1/4 including this one. My other two 2 1/4 inches are dwarfed by this tooth. Attaching a picture for comparison.

[grandpa]

5 hours ago, siteseer said:

their bodies fill out more after they age well into adulthood.

I hear ya', my brother! 

[Clint08]

Stellar condition, very nice and thanks for sharing!

[siteseer]

5 hours ago, grandpa said:

I hear ya', my brother! 

 

Hi Grandpa,

 

I knew someone would say something like that when I wrote it.  

 

Jess

[siteseer]

6 hours ago, sharko69 said:

Thank you! I have found a total of eight 2 inch plus Cretodus teeth and all but two are from this general location including three teeth over 2 1/4 including this one. My other two 2 1/4 inches are dwarfed by this tooth. Attaching a picture for comparison.

 

Yeah, for those not familiar with Cretodus, those two teeth on the outside are considered huge for the genus.  Awesome.

 

Jess

 

 

[sharko69]

3 hours ago, siteseer said:

 

Yeah, for those not familiar with Cretodus, those two teeth on the outside are considered huge for the genus.  Awesome.

 

Jess

 

 

Yes. Those two outside teeth were two of the largest complete teeth I had ever seen and I have seen quite a few. I found both of those 2 1/4 inchers four days apart in the same creek.

[sixgill pete]

Amazing. Fantastic. That rates right up there with finding a 2 inch plus Hemipristis. Or a 3 1/4 inch plus mako or great white. 

Edited March 13, 2021 by sixgill pete

[HemiHunter]

Magnificent tooth!!