5.15" (13.081 cm) Fossil Megalodon Tooth

This is a large, 5.15" (13.081 cm) long, fossil Megalodon tooth collected in South Carolina. Given the size of this tooth, it would have come from a prehistoric, mega-shark in the 40+ foot size range. There is some feeding wear to the tip of the tooth. The serrations are worn, but some of them are still visible.

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This was not only the biggest and baddest prehistoric shark that ever lived, it was the largest marine predator in the history of the planet. Today’s great white sharks would be a mere bite size snack for this monster. It terrorized the diverse ocean waters around the world from 15.9 to 2.6 million years ago (late Oligocene to early Pleistocene). This massive, extinct species of shark was estimated to grow to nearly 60 feet in length and has often been declared the greatest vertebrate predator which ever lived.

These mega-tooth sharks were a giant and more robust version of the great white. They had 276 teeth in 5 rows and like todays sharks shed their teeth throughout their lifetime. The largest Megalodon teeth on record reached a staggering 7.5 inches (190mm). Compare this to the largest great whites whose teeth top out around 3 inches long.

Their teeth were bone crunching and flesh cutting tools which evolved for grasping powerful prey such as Baleen whales. Fossil evidence supports that Megalodon focused its attack on the hard bony parts of its prey, such as rib cages, flippers, shoulders, and spines- effectively disabling large whales and harming major organs such as the heart and lungs. This strategy explains the thick, robust teeth of the Megalodon.

Megalodon has a cosmopolitan (global) distribution and its giant teeth can be found in deposits throughout the world. Some are collected on land in phosphate deposits while many are collected from rivers and coastlines after eroding out of the rocks. This contributes to the water worn, polished appearance to many teeth.

The standard measure for meg teeth is slant height, or the longest edge of the tooth. Adult Megalodon teeth were typically in the 4-5 inch range, with teeth over 6 inches being rare and representing super-sized individuals. There have only been a handful of teeth ever found over seven inches.

No one knows for sure why the Megalodon went extinct 2.6 Million years ago, but the cooling of the climate and gradual disappearance of many of the large whales it relied on for food are suspects.

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