Isurus hastalis

This catalog contains quality teeth from the Big-tooth or Broad-tooth “Mako” shark are noted for their wide, unserrrated triangular crowns and large  rectangular roots. These teeth exhibit gray, blue, black, tan, white, or green colored crowns with white to black roots. They are very showy, making them an excellent addition to your Mako shark tooth collection. These are top quality Mako teeth from the Bone Valley Fm., Florida. No repair in this group! 

What’s in a name? For the fifty years, Isurus hastalis was known to me and others as the big Mako shark tooth that collectors sought from Miocene – Pliocene deposits. Everyone wanted to find a big Mako tooth. In 2001, Purdy (Smithsonsian) resurrected Isurus xiphodon for the broad-form Mako teeth at Lee Creek. It made sense, but now it is not considered a valid species. In 1964, Glikman proposed the Cosmopolitodus genus for the "hastalis" shark as Isurus hastalis was related to the Great White shark rather than the Mako. This convention was not adopted in the scientific community until the last decade; particularly with the naming of the Carcharodon hubbelli, the Great White transition tooth (late Miocene). There is also a push to rename the shark formerly known as Isurus hastalis to Carcharodon hastalis recognizing that it is an early form of the Great White shark. Ok, Isurus hastalis and Isurus xiphodon names going away, but the future name for "hastlis" appears to be unsettled. What do we call this shark if it is not a Mako? More to come in my Blog article.

Bone Valley - Excellent Megalodon teeth are recovered from the Bone Valley Fm. in Florida. These teeth can be very colorful and well preserved. The Bone Valley Fm. is a middle to Late Miocene deposit in central Florida. The phosphate mining operations in Polk Co. has uncovered the majority Bone Valley fossils. Access to the phosphate mine dumps is very limited and appears to be highly restricted to a few fossil club entries. Exceptional Bone Valley Fm. Megalodon teeth are also recovered offshore Golden Beach and Venice Beach.

Note - all teeth sizes are slant height unless otherwise noted.