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Product Description
SEE MORE ISURUS WHITE & MAKO SHARK FOSSILS
Known as the Broad-Toothed Mako (Cosmopolitodus hastalis), this shark is believed to have been the eventual precursor to the modern Great White shark. This shark was a type of White shark that lived from 30 to 1 million years ago, and grew to large lengths, similar to the maximum size modern Great White shark of today.
This is a pristine and beautiful example of an extinct White shark species to be found in the famous Lee Creek region. This tooth is a pure gem acquired over 21 years ago from a worker at the mine. You will be hard-pressed to locate many teeth of this variety, quality and locale now in the market. Lee Creek fossil shark teeth carry a premium due to their provenance and known spectacular light color and preservation. A tooth like this is considered a rare find even "back in the day...". This is a highly recommended uncommon fossil shark tooth of impeccable preservation and beauty for the discriminating collector.
HISTORY
Cosmopolitodus hastalis was a hunter-killer shark of large marine mammals such as dolphins, seals, sea lions and juveniles of large whales. Fossils of bites on these marine mammals indicate this shark used similar tactics of hunting and attack like the modern Great White, attacking prey from below and behind. The strategy was a lightning quick lunge from below to make a surprise fatal bite, then waiting a moment for the injured prey to bleed to incapacity where a final killing bite could be inflicted.
On the south shore of the Pamlico river in North Carolina near the Outer Banks lies an open pit phosphate mine still in operation. This mine produces some of the finest fossil shark teeth in the world and the region is known as "Lee Creek" by most. There are four recognized formations each with its respective representation of an epoch in time. They are in order of oldest first, PUNGO RIVER (Lower Miocene), YORKTOWN (Early Pliocene), CHOWAN RIVER (Late Pliocene), and JAMES CITY (Pleistocene). It is currently believed that the Pungo River layer once existed as a sub-tropical marine environment. The lowest strata of this formation is theorized to have been under 100 - 200 meters of water when covered by a prehistoric ocean with the uppermost layer having existed at a depth of 70 meters under water. The Yorktown layer is believed to have been under 80 - 100 meters at its lowest strata with a gradual decrease in the ocean depth to a point where the water was as shallow as 15 meters at the last time period of that formation's existence.
Approximately 50 species of sharks alone are found in the Lee Creek mine. Other fossils exist representing skates, rays, bony fishes, mammals (mainly marine), reptiles (turtles) and a host of marine invertebrates. Lee Creek is a world-class site for some of the finest shark fossils. These specimens are coveted by collectors the world over. All it takes is to hold one of these gem teeth in your hand and behold the beauty up close and personal. In doing so, you too, will be hooked forever on the beauty of Lee Creek teeth.
