According to Dr. Kent's book "Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region", Carcharodon carcharias teeth are present but rare in the Calvert formation.  I have never found one here, or even seen one that someone else had found here, and I was wondering if any of the Bay hunters here have ever found a fossil Great White tooth from the Bay.  I'm not looking for GPS locations or anything, just some anecdotal evidence (besides the book) that finding one is possible.

I realize that by asking, I'm probably ensuring that I will never find one.

Tom

Martijn, I'd love to see a picture of the little great white you describe.  I have never found one, nor have I ever seen one from the Chesapeake Bay.  I know some teeth are supremely rare here.  I think the rarest shark teeth from the Bay are the six-gill cowshark Hexanchus gigas, the bramble shark, the parotodus, and then the serrated giant thresher.  I have seen a hexanchus and serrated giant thresher before from the Bay, and I have found a couple specimens of the bramble and parotodus. 

Daryl.

Hi Daryl,

This is the tooth I was talking about. It was labeled to be found in the Plum Point region.

Take care,

Martijn

Carl, I'm nowhere near an expert on the subject, but my understanding is that since evolution of a species doesn't happen all at once, it is not unusual for a single geological formation to contain fossils from several evolutionarily related, but distinct, species.  A good example of this is found in the Nanjemoy formation.  According to Elasmo's Nanjemoy fauna page, Cretalamna evolved into Otodus, which evolved into Carcharocles aksuaticus, which then became Carcharocles auriculatus.  All four species can be found in the formation.  Also, although I believe that Carcharodon probably did evolve from hastalis, I have also read that DNA analysis, quoted by Purdy et al in 2001, suggests  that Carcharodon originated possibly as early as the Paleocene.  It's going to take a smater person than myself to sort it all out.

Martijn, I was able to view your pictures by using the "insert image" button while posting this, and while the photos are small (and my eyes aren't the greatest), that surely looks like a great white to me.  However, I have learned to be skeptical of teeth obtained by purchase or trade, especially when a tooth from a rare location is involved.  I can only say that if I had found a Bay Great White tooth myself,  I'm not sure that anything could convince me to give it up, short of a pistol against my temple.

Tom

Martijn, thanks for the pics of that tooth.  It sure looks like a great white to me too.  I don't know that I'm necessarily skeptical about the tooth coming from the bay, but it sure looks typical of the great whites that are found in the various Carolina rivers.  I was kind of hoping to see it have a different coloration, something similar to colors that we see on Bay teeth.  I'll have to check my Kent book to see if he mentions which formations the GW teeth in the Bay come from.  I know GW teeth are found at Lee Creek, some are black and others (Yorktown) have nice tan roots with gray crowns.  So, if GW teeth can be mixed in with Megs at Lee Creek, I suppose they can mixed in with the Megs in the Bay

Since you acquired the tooth in a trade, your only hope is that the person you got it from was honest.  I agree with the others in that had I found this tooth, it would have taken a great deal for me to trade it away.  This is why I only trade with folks I know or those that have been recommended by my friends, or those with established reputations. 

thanks again for taking the time to post the pics,
Daryl.