The side cusps matter
A complete Otodus obliquus carries a pair of pointed lateral cusps at the base of the crown. They are thin and break easily, so an intact pair markedly raises a specimen’s grade.
Paleocene–Eocene
How to recognise and assess Otodus obliquus teeth
The ancestor of the megalodon lineage and a distinctive shark tooth from the Paleocene and Eocene.
Otodus obliquus cruised the warm seas of the Paleocene and Eocene, a mackerel shark of roughly nine metres with broad triangular crowns and sharp side cusps. Follow its lineage forward and you arrive at Carcharocles megalodon.
Otodus obliquus is younger than the Late Cretaceous marine reptiles. Crown height is a useful measurement for an isolated tooth; photographs of the exact piece and details of condition and provenance matter just as much.
- Age
- 56–45 million years
- Period
- Paleocene–Eocene
- Frequently cited region
- Khouribga region; verify each piece
- Sizes
- 2 cm · 4 cm · 6 cm
Coming soon
Otodus obliquus Specimens
Coming soon
Otodus obliquus will be available in this collection soon.
Before you buy
Judging a Otodus obliquus tooth
Not a megalodon
Otodus is an ancestor of megalodon, not the same animal. Megalodon teeth are larger, lack side cusps, and do not come from these Moroccan beds.
Colour is geology
Enamel ranges from cream through steel blue to near black, depending on the minerals in the layer. Colour records chemistry, not quality.
