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ABOVE TWO PHOTOS SHOW COMPLETE, UNBROKEN CROWN WHERE IT MEETS THE ROOT. THIS AREA IS BROKEN AND MISSING IN LARGE TEETH BUT NOT WITH THIS SPECIMEN
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RARE LARGE YELLOW 5.1 INCH MEGALODON TOOTH FROM RARE U.S.A. LAND SITE Summerville - Hawthorn Formation - Dorchester County, South Carolina MIDDLE MIOCENE PERIOD: 15 million years ago This MASSIVE Megalodon shark tooth comes from a famous land site that is unique to producing these very light, rare colored teeth. Fossil Megalodon teeth from Summerville, South Carolina come from the Hawthorn Formation dating back to the Middle Miocene Period, approximately 15 million years ago. Most teeth found in Summerville are pitted, poorly preserved and rotted lacking the necessary environment needed to solidly mineralize fossil teeth in most instances. The damp soil of this land site along with the numerous invasive roots of ground vegetation have proven to be a far inferior environment in preserving fossil shark teeth compared to clay or gravel deposits of rivers. This specimen is VERY LARGE at an 5.1 INCHES!!! The "magic mark" for UN-RESTORED Megalodon teeth when it comes to value and price is 5 inches. It is a benchmark similar to a diamond that hits 1 carat. When a Megalodon tooth hits this size, price jumps dramatically in quarter inch increments all the way to 7 inches. It is important to emphasize this is for Megalodon teeth that have had NOTHING done to them - no repair and no restoration, PERIOD! The Summerville site is unique because it sometimes produces white and lighter colored teeth. This tooth has a really attractive warm golden yellow hue in its enamel. This highly desirable color resembles a tooth from the phosphate deposits of Bone Valley in Central Florida. Serrations are well-defined with some naturally caused feeding wear which is typical for such a large predator if not better than usually seen. The tip is intact and in RARE FORM for a tooth this large. Serration detail runs all the way to the tip point. Serration detail is also present with an unbroken crown on both sides where it meets the root. This is usually broken in large teeth but no so with this very rare example. The shark this tooth came from was easily 50 feet in length! With respect to the usual deteriorated teeth found in Summerville this tooth cannot be compared to and is very heavy and solid. We guarantee that this fine investment-grade whopper has absolutely NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION - a serious problem today in the Megalodon tooth market when it comes to large, impressive examples. NOTE: Do not confuse this tooth with the white and yellow megalodon teeth coming out of South America and the South Pacific. Those teeth are far less rare and their substantially lower prices on the market indicate this. Furthermore, megalodon teeth from these sources are not mineralized very well and most are rotten, easily falling apart if not properly stabilized. South American (Chile, Peru, etc..) megalodon teeth still attached to matrix are even worse and should be avoided at all costs!!! The majority of the large South American megalodon teeth are restored and/or repaired to appear nicer than they really are. The expertise in which we have seen this work is of the highest level and unless you are an expert and possess the proper tools to determine the restoration, you could easily be fooled. Amongst all shark tooth collectors, megalodon teeth with ANY restoration or repair will always be worth so much less than those without it. These collectors know the issues attached to South American megalodon teeth and this has been a main factor in stigmatizing these teeth and is the reason why these teeth are substantially lower in price than teeth from the southeastern U.S.A. White and yellow megalodon teeth from the U.S.A. are found on land sites and are RARE since most megalodon teeth are found in rivers and possess dark colors.
LARGE, INTACT TOOTH WITH RARE COLOR AND SOURCE - FROM FRONT AND CENTER OF THE UPPER JAW! 5.1" in length on the diagonal edge SOLD SH6-077 INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX Actual Item - One Only |
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1895 |
At a length of 52 feet
and weighing in excess of 60 tons, Carcharodon megalodon was the second
largest predator that ever existed on this planet, the largest being the
sperm whale. Megalodon was larger and heavier than T. rex.
Scientific reconstructions of this shark estimate the dorsal fin 5.5
feet tall, the pectoral fins at 10 feet in length and the tail over 12
feet high. If you were unfortunate enough to have a megalodon swim
over you, the pectoral fins would measure 30 feet from tip to tip with a
torso in excess of 10 feet thick! The jaws were so large that
this shark would be able to swallow a Rhinoceros whole. A
predator this size would have most likely fed on large marine
vertebrates, especially whales. Fossil teeth have been found in
excess of 7 inches in length! Megalodon teeth are similar in
geometry to the modern White Shark and scientists are still passionately
divided on the origin of the two species and if megalodon is related to
the modern white shark. It is also not fully understood why this
giant killer became extinct but we can all be glad it is. A day at
the beach just wouldn't be what it is today!