Striatolamia macrota

Shark tooth
Larger image (15 kb)
Specimen #36
Taxon: Striatolamia macrota (Agassiz)
Locality: Clifton Beach, Charles County, MD
Age: Paleocene
Rock unit: Aquia Formation
Collector: W. Itano

This is the most common type of shark tooth at this locality. It is an anterior (front) tooth. The identification was made by David J. Ward (UK). There is some uncertainty because it is so worn. The classification of teeth of this type has a very complex history, which I don't claim to understand. As a result, you may find references that call the genus of this tooth Odontaspis, Carcharias, or Scapanorhynchus. To add to the confusion, teeth from the same shark, but from different parts of the jaw have different shapes and were sometimes described as different species. (Scale in cm.)


Back to Fossil home page

Back to Itano family home page


Last modified: October 14, 1999. Send comments to webmaster@itano.net