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All the time we have a reoccurring theme of a megatoothed shark tooth with no locale info being labeled as unidentifiable. You would think that those ol’scientists had some good reasons for separating the species out (other than time and place). I have been lucky enough to collect all the teeth from the middle of this line and have made some simple observations. I don’t know whether they stand to scrutiny, but I thought I’d share them. Because I really don’t know what the status of Carcharocles is, im going to use Otodus despite Carcharocles being the cooler name by far. Here it goes: Otodus Aksauticus Fig. 1 Pretty different from Otodus if you asked me. Mine comes from the Early Eocene of Maryland’s Nanjemoy formation. It is Typically early Eocene and a not a very prolific species it seems. The cusp serrations are not very fine, and the blade serrations are large (though not as large as paleocarcharodon) and irregular. May be hard to see in my specimen. This species is probably descended from Otodus obliquus Otodus auriculatus Fig. 3 I believe sokolovi and sokolowi are synonymous, they occur in a number of sites of early- or Mid-Eocene age. I am kind of confused, as I have one that matches the description (and was sold to me as a sokolovi) from Dakhla, Morocco which seems to be late eocene with some late Paleocene deposits (less likely). Take this figure with a generous helping of sodium chloride. These are the first teeth in the lineage that seem to be more common large (2-4 inch slant height it seems) than small. The serrations are slightly finer but still irregular on the blade. The cusp has both large and small serrations. This species probably evolved from Aksauticus (Otodus will be assumed from this point forward). Otodus sokolovi Fig. 2 These are from the mid- late Eocene, and seem to have some degree of regional variation. Mine is from the Late Eocene Harleyville formation of South Carolina. They still tend to keep under 4 inches. Serrations are fine and regular on the blade (because there is a bit of wear on mine it’s hard to see). Cusp serrations are fine but still get large around the point of the cusp. They are probably descended from auriculatus, and are considered by many to be one species. They are here for splitters sake. Otodus angustidens Fig. 4 Okay, so embarrassingly enough I have one good (unworn enough for meaningful automorphies to be seen) angustidens, and it’s a juvenile. I hope you’ve taken a grain of salt for this whole thing, but this one should be a nice chunky crystal. Any way, they are most common in the Oligocene (when they appear). They get almost meg-sized, about five inches is the biggest I’ve heard tell of. They have fine, regular serrations on both the blade and the cusp, only minutely larger towards the apex of the cusp. Cusps are also is moving towards the blade as well as becoming more circular as opposed to the more triangular ones possessed by earlier megatooths. Some can be very difficult to tell from auriculatus/sokolovi (from which it is likely to have evolved. Angustidens tends to have a more triangular blade then auriculatus but this is a flimsy standard and doesn't work in many cases. Mine is from the oligocene Chandler Bridge formation of South Carolina So thats it, figures below, thanks to @Nimravis for the magnifying technique. Chubs are a whole different ball game, one which I am not ready to play at the moment. I think I’ll do a thread on it some other time. hope you enjoyed, please point out any errors or additions! Fig. 1
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So, I have acquired a specimen of every species from cretolamna to C. megalodon. Now I just need to get better representatives, or ones that fit the bill better (posteriors, around 2 inches, and curved to the right). The last specimen is coming in the mail later this month (a auriculatus). I need to find a new otodus, a larger angy, a complete meg, and maybe an aksauticus that curves right. Here’s the set without auriculatus, I’ll update this thread with it once it comes. I’ll have to get working on the GW shark line next, that one will be MUCH harder...
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