Fossilised shark teeth are a relatively common occurrence, and due to the soft cartilaginous bones of sharks; they are the most common evidence of prehistoric sharks. However, fossilised vertebrae, fin spines, and even impressions of soft tissue have also been found, offering glimpses into their biology and evolution.
The most famous prehistoric shark is Otodus megalodon. Megalodon is one of the largest marine predators in Earth’s history, living during the Miocene and Pliocene approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago. Megalodon teeth are massive, with the largest examples reaching over 7 inches in length. They have been found in sedimentary deposits of old seabeds across the world, with the largest density being in SW United States, Morocco, and Peru.
Sharks are arguably the Earth’s most successful groups of predators, having been around for over 400 million years. They have lived through various geological periods, survived mass extinctions that wiped out most other large predators and continuously adapted and thrived in different marine environments.
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