1.4" Narrow White Shark Tooth Fossil on Sandstone - Bakersfield, CA

Narrow White Shark Tooth Fossil on Sandstone - Bakersfield, CA #238333

Here is a partial Narrow White shark, upper jaw tooth (Carcharodon hastilis) found at Sharktooth Hill near Bakersfield, California. These teeth have beautiful coloration which is quite distinct to the location. Quite impressive for a tooth that's 15 million years old.

The tooth has been exposed from the sandstone it was found in. The slight green tint of the sandstone is a result of the stabilization process.

Sharktooth Hill is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Bakersfield, California. It represents an exposure of the Temblor Formation, a middle-Miocene marine deposit. 15 million years ago the sea levels were substantially higher and central California was covered by what is known as the Temblor Sea.

There are two highly fossiliferous bone beds in the formation that were created when fossils originally deposited at the bottom of the sea eroded out of the rocks, were concentrated by ocean currents, and subsequently reburied. Because the fossils in these bone beds are reworked, only isolated teeth and bones are found in these beds.

Today, the original Sharktooth Hill is a National Natural Landmark, but there is private property surrounding it on which there are operational pay-to-dig fossil quarries.