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A nearly complete fossil shark from Peru’s Pisco Formation was unveiled in Lima on January 20, 2025. Identified at the presentation as Cosmopolitodus hastalis and dated to about nine million years ago, the extinct shark is notable for its reported preservation and for sardine remains paleontologist Mario Urbina said were found inside it. It is best described as an extinct great white relative—not a proven direct ancestor of today’s great white.
What was the fossil found in Peru?
The specimen was identified at its January 2025 presentation as Cosmopolitodus hastalis, an extinct shark from the Pisco Formation. In the recorded presentation, INGEMMET engineer César Augusto Chacaltana dated it to nine million years ago and said the work involved three institutions; the recording transcript does not identify all three. Reuters’ recording of the presentation provides the identification and remarks.
News coverage described the fossil as nearly complete and placed it in Peru’s Pisco Basin, about 235 km south of Lima. The Straits Times, citing Reuters in 2025, reported teeth reaching up to 8.9 cm and an estimated adult length of nearly seven metres. Those figures are report-level estimates, not formal measurements established here for the displayed individual. The Straits Times report also quoted Urbina saying complete shark fossils are uncommon, a qualitative observation rather than a measured frequency.
Why is the fossil’s preservation notable?
Sharks have skeletons made mostly of cartilage, which generally preserves less readily than bone. As a result, the fossil record for sharks often relies heavily on teeth and vertebrae rather than a largely intact skeleton. The presentation described this specimen as exceptionally preserved for a shark; that characterization is noteworthy, but it does not by itself establish how often comparable fossils occur worldwide.
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What did this ancient shark eat?
At the presentation, paleontologist Mario Urbina said the fossil contained stomach contents with many sardines. He described C. hastalis as pelagic, meaning it lived in the open water rather than being confined to the seafloor or shore. The sardines are the reported contents of this individual; they should not be taken as a complete account of the species’ diet.
Was Cosmopolitodus hastalis a direct ancestor of the great white?
Chacaltana called C. hastalis an ancestor of the modern great white during the presentation. That wording reflects his statement at the event, but the sources describing this newly unveiled specimen do not establish that this individual—or its species in a simple, direct line—gave rise to living great whites.
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The broader evolutionary picture is more nuanced. A 2012 peer-reviewed study proposed that Carcharodon hubbelli, a different shark species dated to 6–8 million years ago, was a transitional form between C. hastalis and the living great white, Carcharodon carcharias. The study offers context for a relationship between broad-toothed makos and white sharks, but it did not analyze the fossil presented in 2025. Ehret and colleagues’ 2012 study discusses that separate fossil and evolutionary interpretation.
How does it compare with megalodon?
Megalodon should not be casually described as a close great white relative or simply as a giant version of one. Smithsonian Ocean says modern research places megalodon closer to an ancestor of mako sharks than to the great white. The 2025 C. hastalis fossil is a separate find and does not revise that distinction. Smithsonian Ocean’s megalodon explainer summarizes the evolutionary context and the preservation limits of shark skeletons.
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Is this the same Peruvian fossil described in 2009?
No. A separate Peruvian fossil discussed by the Florida Museum in 2009 was dated to 4–5 million years ago and described as an early white shark. It included a complete jaw with 222 teeth and 45 vertebrae. That specimen is not the C. hastalis presented in 2025. The earlier study supported a mako-related evolutionary path and argued that great whites and megalodon were more distantly related than once believed. The Florida Museum’s 2009 account covers that different fossil.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about the specimen’s current location?
The available reports identify the fossil and describe its presentation in Lima, but do not establish its current repository, collection number, or whether it is now on public display. The presentation transcript also does not provide the names of all three collaborating institutions.
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