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HUGE RARE MEGALODON TOOTH - Bone Valley Formation - Central Florida, U.S. MIOCENE to PLIOCENE PERIOD: 23.3 - 1.81 million years ago From the Bone Valley Region of Central Florida, U.S., this fossil shark tooth is of the famous, giant Carcharodon megalodon shark. Megalodon teeth from Bone Valley are considered to be the most beautiful in the world. Compared to the ugly black and dark brown crud-stained Meg teeth found in rivers, Bone Valley specimens have white or very light roots and enamel in a rainbow of colors. This is a result of the unique chemistry of the sediments in Bone Valley. Anyone that is familiar with rare Meg teeth will immediately realize what is being offered here. Bone Valley is one of the rarest sites in the world for Meg teeth. This tooth has two major features that teeth from this formation seldom possess - size and state of intactness. While river teeth are common in the 3" range, a 3" tooth from Bone Valley is quite a find. Teeth in the 4" range are hardly if ever found today. A 4" tooth for Bone Valley is what an over 6" tooth would be from any other source. This ULTRA-RARE specimen is OVER 4". Now let's look at the condition. Known for their beautiful colors, Meg teeth from Bone Valley are expected to almost always be damaged and heavily worn. Despite this, they are so rare that this is the one world source where this damage is acceptable to collectors. Teeth that are intact with little to no wear or damage are so rare that very few ever make it to the public market and when they do, they are snatched up immediately. How did we get this tooth? It's a long story but it came from a private collection and was found a very long time ago. The mines are no longer producing teeth like this and in all of our past collecting trips, it has been over a decade and a half since we have seen one like it. The tip is near perfect with very little wear and no damage. Serrations run sharp right from the finest edges at the base of the tooth all the way to the tip - both sides. Enamel is COMPLETELY intact and bourlette is 99% present (ABSOLUTELY UNHEARD OF IN THIS SIZE AND LOCALE!!!!!!!!!). This tooth is so amazing that the reverse side has a very seldom seen feature. There is an inverted V coloring in the enamel just above the base as seen in the third and sixth photos from the top. The root is so dense and complete, it is a rarity unto itself to find Meg teeth FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WITH SUCH A PERFECT ROOT. There are no expansion cracks or breaks in the root. MOST IMPORTANT - THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO RESTORATION OR REPAIR ON THIS SPECIMEN.
Megalodon teeth tend to run smaller from Bone Valley and it is theorized that this warm shallow marine environment rich in food source was a nursery for the Carcharodon megalodon shark. The larger adults would not have been able to swim into the shallow water and there was an abundance of small whales in the area. The fact that these fossil teeth run smaller than the bigger, black river specimens in no way detracts from their value. Bone Valley specimens are very rare and highly-prized by collectors. A megalodon tooth from Bone Valley is simply the most beautiful fossil tooth of this extinct monster one can acquire.
From the middle Miocene, 16 million years ago to the earliest Pliocene, about 4.5 million years ago, no other region in North America can claim a more varied and richer wealth of important vertebrate fossil finds than from the famous BONE VALLEY region in the phosphate mining district of Central Florida. During this time, thick forests and grassy plains covered a stubby peninsula that only went as far south to what is now Polk County. If you were to visit this area at that time, you would find six-foot tortoises, shovel-tusked mastodons, hornless rhinos, humpless camels, iguanas, gila monsters, and 30-foot crocodiles. The warm waters surrounding the area were filled with a rich variety of life as well, including long-beaked dolphins, bony fish, rays, sea cows and sharks including the notorious and now extinct giant killer shark, megalodon. Bone Valley fossils are rare and highly-priced specimens. Due to the unique geological characteristics of the phosphate-rich region, most of the fossils are beautifully preserved with amazing detail and color. Unlike the majority of southeastern U.S. fossils retrieved from rivers and streams, Bone Valley specimens are found in dry earth and are not stained with the typical cruddy black and brown muck from rivers. Because Bone Valley fossils comprise so much variety of both ancient marine and terrestrial creatures, along with their unique and rare beauty of preservation, specimens from this locality are very rare and of great value to any fossil collection. TO CALL THIS AN INVESTMENT TOOTH IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT - RAREST WE'VE HAD! 4.3" in length on the diagonal edge x 3.15" wide SOLD SH630 INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX Actual Item - One Only |
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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!