Clearance Lot: Fossil Shark Teeth On Sandstone - California

This is a lot of eight fossil shark teeth in sandstone from the Temblor Formation near Bakersfield, California. They are approximately 15.5 million years in age and range from about .22 to .5" in length. They represent teeth from multiple species; most are makos or bull sharks, but there are other species as well.

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.

Two highly fossiliferous bone beds in the formation 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 private property surrounding it contains operational pay-to-dig fossil quarries.