Ancient seas, ca. 2 million years ago. Gorgeous example of a Megalodon tooth that has turned a glossy black through the fossilization process. The edge remains razor sharp, with all serrations intact. Size: 5.1" W x 5.95" H (13 cm x 15.1 cm)

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.

Provenance: Ex-private Van Buskirk collection, Tucson, AZ,

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#120403

Small losses to area where tooth meets root as shown.