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3.42" Fossil Megalodon Tooth - North Carolina
This is a 3.42" long megalodon tooth collected on the North Carolina coast. It was found by commercial divers collecting "the ledges" in about 100 feet of water. The tooth would have eroded out of the Pungo River Formation when sea levels were lower and the area where these teeth are found was at the shoreline. The fossil tooth itself would be from between 13.8 to 16 million years old. A tooth of this size would have come from a prehistoric, mega-shark in the 30 foot size range.
Comes with an acrylic display stand.
Comes with an acrylic display stand.
About The Megalodon Shark
The megalodon 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, from the late Oligocene to the early Pleistocene. This massive and extinct species of shark was estimated to grow to nearly 60 feet in length and has often been declared the greatest vertebrate predator that ever lived.
Reconstructed jaws on display at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
These mega-toothed sharks were a giant and more robust version of the great white. They had 276 teeth in 5 rows and, like today's 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. Wow!
Their teeth were bone-crunching and flesh-cutting tools 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 their thick, robust teeth.
Megalodon had 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 of many teeth.
The standard measure for megalodon teeth is slant height, or the longest edge of the tooth. Adult megalodon teeth were typically in the 4 to 5 inch range: teeth over 6 inches are rare and represent super-sized individuals. Only a handful of teeth have ever been 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.
The megalodon 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, from the late Oligocene to the early Pleistocene. This massive and extinct species of shark was estimated to grow to nearly 60 feet in length and has often been declared the greatest vertebrate predator that ever lived.
Reconstructed jaws on display at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
These mega-toothed sharks were a giant and more robust version of the great white. They had 276 teeth in 5 rows and, like today's 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. Wow!
Their teeth were bone-crunching and flesh-cutting tools 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 their thick, robust teeth.
Megalodon had 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 of many teeth.
The standard measure for megalodon teeth is slant height, or the longest edge of the tooth. Adult megalodon teeth were typically in the 4 to 5 inch range: teeth over 6 inches are rare and represent super-sized individuals. Only a handful of teeth have ever been 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.
SPECIES
Otodus megalodon
LOCATION
North Carolina
FORMATION
Pungo River Formation
SIZE
3.42" long
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#298866
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