North America, Savannah River bordering South Carolina and Georgia, dating between 28 million and 1.5 million years old. A large and gorgeous megalodon fossil tooth with gray-black mottled enamel including small orange speckles and black root. An impressive example. Megalodon (Carcharodon megalodon, literally "big tooth"), thought to have become extinct 1.6 million years ago, is the largest known member of the shark family. Fossil reconstructions suggest Megalodon reached lengths up to 54 feet, three times larger than Great Whites. Megalodons seem to have preferred shallow, coastal waters, which would have been full of prey, and their teeth are often found along coastlines in those areas. Prior to 1666, when naturalist Nicolaus Steno studied shark teeth and realized the error, people believed that these teeth were moon rocks or dragon's tongues. Megalodon teeth are all that remain of these ancient creatures, whose skeletal structures - like those of all sharks - were made of cartilage and did not fossilize. A megalodon's age at death can be determined by the growth rings radiating from the centra of the tooth. Size: 4" L x 3" W (10.2 cm x 7.6 cm) Includes custom stand.

Provenance: Ex-private New Mexico collection.

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#117392

Excellent; with surface pitting near root