8 Orthacanthus Shark Fossil Teeth Permian Age Ryan FM Waurika OK COA, Display

Location: Ryan Formation, Waurika Oklahoma

Weight: 0.2 Ounces 

Dimensions: 38MM (Display)

Teeth Dimensions: 0.1 - 0.2 Inches 

Come with a certificate of authenticity.

The item pictured is the one you will receive.

251 - 299 Million Years old.

Name: Orthacanthus (Vertical spike).
Named By: Louis Agassiz - 1836.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Up to 3 meters long.
Known locations: Europe. North America.
Time period: Permian Age

Orthacanthus is a genus of prehistoric freshwater shark that lived during the Permian Age. It was also a member of a group of ancient sharks called xenacanths, all of which were freshwater sharks with long fins down their backs and a spine at the start of the fin. It was the largest of the known xenacanths at 3 meters (10 feet) and 45 kg (100 lbs).

About 260 million years ago, Orthacanthus was the apex predator of freshwater swamps and bayous in Europe and North America. It owned a peculiar set of double fanged teeth. They first appeared about 400 million years ago in the Devonian, and became extinct just before the Mesozoic period, about 299 million years ago.

Orthacanthus doesn't really look like many sharks alive today.  Its body was much longer and more slender and it had a shallow, rounded dorsal fin running from the back of its head all the way down to the base of its tail instead of the famous triangle fin we commonly associate with sharks. It also sported a long spike growing up from the base of its skull which may have been a defensive weapon against larger predators.  There are actually several kinds of living sharks that have spikes, too but all of theirs grow from the base of the dorsal fin, not the skull. Orthacanthus's teeth grew in pairs or "twins".  This means that there were two pointy teeth coming out of one root.