Oligocene
The Oligocene Epoch (about 33.9 to 23 million years ago). South Carolina's Cooper Group — the Ashley and Chandler Bridge Formations — dates here, rich in whales and Otodus angustidens teeth.
The Oligocene epoch ran from about 33.9 to 23 million years ago. In South Carolina it is represented by the Cooper Group — notably the Ashley and Chandler Bridge Formations — which preserve early whales alongside the broad, cusped teeth of Otodus angustidens.
Because a tooth's age follows the rock it eroded from, naming the right epoch is central to dating a specimen. Our formations guide walks the full column.