By its very nature, the fossil record is fragmentary making it difficult to reconstruct the evolution of extinct species. The literature is similarly fragmentary; many localities are either undescribed, or cited in obscure or rare journals.

Micropalaeontological biostratigraphy and improved knowledge of geology and sedimentation has caused the age of many formations ages to be revised, and stage boundaries have been moved, causing confusion when using older literature. Scott (2001; p.14) wrote, "Significant changes in age determinations or interpretations have occurred for the sediments traditionally considered as Miocene in the [Florida] peninsula." Traditionally, the Miocene of Florida was divided into three subdivisions, Lower Miocene (St. Marks Formation), Middle Miocene (Hawthorn "Formation") and Upper Miocene (Tamiami Formation) sediments. Currently however, "geologists recognize that the Hawthorn Group [formerly a formation] spans from the mid-Oligocene to Early Pliocene" and "the Tamiami Formation is Early to Late Pliocene" (Scott, 2001; pp.14-15).

Müller & Henle (1841) described fossil teeth of the Great white shark as Carcharodon rondeleti and Agassiz (1843) as Carcharias semiserratus and Carcharias sulcidens. Pliocene records of Great whites are much more frequent than Miocene ones. "Miocene Great white shark" teeth are usually somewhat worn or reworked. Neither I, nor others questioned on this topic, know of any location where one can find Miocene specimens in pristine states of preservation, as one might find in Pliocene clays or fine-sand layers. In addition, it is widely known that "Miocene Great white" teeth are often found in rivers, where there is a reworked mixture of different layers, from the Eocene to Pleistocene (i.e. along the east coast of the USA). Not as well known is that diggers and dealers protect their secret locations. For example, material from the Meherrin River / near Murfreesboro / Hertford County / North Carolina / USA (James City or Chowan River Formation = Upper Pliocene) ¹ may be represented as from the more popular Cooper River / South Carolina / USA (Hawthorn "Formation" = Middle Miocene).

This paper will review the available literature that discusses the presence of Great white sharks in various fauna worldwide in an effort to determine the earliest occurrence. In doing so, it will be necessary to evaluate the reliability of the location, depositional environment and identification of the specimen. These determinations by their very nature are subjective and all efforts will be made to document the reasons for a particular standpoint. This assessment is done with hindsight, providing me with much more context than was available to the original authors, sometimes a century or more earlier.

In addition to the greater resources available in today's knowledge-base of fossil shark teeth, I will be differentiating the 'transitional' (hastalis-carcharias) teeth of the evolving Great white from the fully evolved versions; an attention to details not pursued by many, and even then, only recently.

Citations have been broadly grouped based on age (geologically) and then presented alphabetically within each group. Some nineteen citations are Miocene related and another ten are deemed Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. Each has been graded based on their usefulness to the objective. This rating has nothing to do with the underlying value of the original papers, only how they can shed light on the appearance of Carcharodon carcharias. The relevance to this report will be graded from 0 to 5 to indicate my confidence in: