Sokolovi (Auriculatus) Shark Tooth – Jurassic-Era Gift for Collectors

This substantial fossilized Otodus sokolovi tooth displays a tall, broad triangular crown above an exceptionally robust root, with serrated cutting edges preserved along the sides. Its warm tan and earthy coloration, impressive proportions and distinctive broad-rooted form make it a striking example of one of the large predatory sharks that inhabited the ancient seas of what is now Morocco.

Specimen Details

✓ Species: Otodus sokolovi (Jaekel, 1895)
✓ Former / Alternative Names: Carcharocles sokolovi, Carcharocles auriculatus
✓ Age: Late Eocene, approximately 40 million years old
✓ Location: Dakhla, Morocco
✓ Weight: 97 g
✓ Size: 93 mm left side | 87 mm right side, measured from base to tip at an angle | 73 mm wide

The Story Behind the Tooth

Around 40 million years ago, the region surrounding present-day Dakhla was part of a warm marine environment inhabited by a diverse community of prehistoric sharks, fish and marine mammals. Fossil deposits from southwestern Morocco have produced well-preserved teeth of Otodus cf. sokolowi, with documented specimens reaching approximately 10 cm in height. These teeth are characterised by their large triangular crowns, regular serrations and lateral cusplets. 

Otodus sokolovi belongs to the Otodontidae, the family of large megatooth sharks whose evolutionary history stretches from the Eocene toward the enormous Otodus megalodon. The species has appeared under several names in the fossil literature, including Carcharocles sokolovi and Carcharocles auriculatus, reflecting the long-standing difficulty of separating closely related Eocene Otodus forms. Modern databases retain Otodus sokolovi / Otodus (Carcharocles) sokolowi as the relevant taxon. 

The teeth of O. sokolovi are particularly interesting because they show characteristics associated with the changing morphology of the otodontid sharks. Compared with O. auriculatus, sokolovi is generally distinguished by finer, more regular serrations, while retaining prominent lateral cusplets; these characteristics help place it within the sequence of closely related Eocene and Oligocene megatooth sharks. 

This makes O. sokolovi much more than simply an impressive prehistoric shark tooth. It represents a fascinating point in the evolutionary story of the megasharks, during a period when these predators were developing the large, serrated teeth that would become such a defining feature of their later relatives.

A Tooth from the Rise of the Megasharks

For the fossil collector, this specimen offers an opportunity to own a substantial piece of that evolutionary story. Long before Otodus megalodon became the legendary giant of the Miocene and Pliocene oceans, earlier otodontid sharks such as O. sokolovi were already developing the formidable triangular, serrated teeth that characterise this remarkable lineage.

Bring a 40-million-year-old chapter of the megashark story into your collection — a substantial Otodus sokolovi tooth from the ancient seas of Dakhla, preserved for tens of millions of years and ready to become a remarkable centrepiece in your fossil collection.