09/09/2026
🦈 Bucket List Discovery Alert!
Yesterday, we found our first—and quite possibly our last—3"+ Parotodus benedenii tooth.
“Benis,” as they’re affectionately called, are among the rarest fossil shark teeth found in Miocene to Early Pleistocene-aged deposits. Parotodus benedenii was a large lamniform shark that shared the ancient oceans with Megalodon, but unlike Megalodon, it is believed to have been primarily pelagic, spending much of its time in the open ocean rather than nearshore environments.
That lifestyle likely helps explain why its teeth are so uncommon in the fossil record. In our experience, Parotodus teeth are easily 100× rarer than Megalodon teeth.
And this specimen is something special.
At a 3.07" total slant length, very few Parotodus benedenii teeth make it past the 3-inch mark. Combine that size with the exceptional preservation, which is among the top 1% of all shark teeth I've ever found.
Finding a specimen like this is one of those moments that reminds you why you keep looking.
I'll post photos of the tooth cleaned up and ready to appreciate on Friday.
🦴 Bonus points to whoever can identify the Ice Age mammal fossil in one of the photos!
