2.1" Quality Megalodon Shark Tooth Serrated Fossil Natural Miocene Age COA

Location: South Carolina, United States

Weight: 0.8 Ounces 

Dimensions: 2.1 Inches Long, 1.6 Inches Wide, 0.4 Inches Thick 

Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

The item pictured is the one you will receive.

Early Miocene to Pliocene, 5-23 million years old

• Scientific Name: Otodus megalodon (previously Carcharodon or Carcharocles megalodon)

• Meaning: “Big tooth,” referring to its massive, serrated teeth that can reach up to 18 centimeters in length, ideal for slicing through large prey.

• Time Period: Lived between 23 and 5 million years ago, from the Early Miocene to the end of the Pliocene, dominating oceans worldwide for over 13 million years.

• Size: Estimated to reach 15–18 meters long, nearly three times the size of today’s largest great white shark, making it one of the largest predators in Earth’s history.

• Body and Jaws: Featured a powerful, streamlined body and a massive jaw capable of generating incredible bite forces, enough to crush whale bones. Its hundreds of serrated teeth were perfectly adapted for gripping, tearing, and consuming large prey.

• Diet and Hunting Strategy: Megalodon was an apex predator, feeding on whales, large fish, and marine mammals. Fossilized bite marks show evidence of strategic attacks, often targeting the chest or tail of prey to immobilize them. It likely used ambush tactics and bursts of speed in coastal waters and open seas to capture prey.

• Habitat: Inhabited warm, shallow coastal waters, continental shelves, and open oceans, with fossil evidence distributed across all major continents, suggesting a nearly global range in tropical and subtropical seas.

• Family and Evolution: Once considered part of the Lamnidae family, related to modern great white sharks, recent research classifies it in the genus Otodus. Its adaptations reflect a specialized predator optimized for hunting large marine animals.

• Extinction: Occurred about 2.6 million years ago, likely due to climate cooling, changing ocean currents, and declining populations of large prey, which reduced its ability to sustain populations.

• Fossil Significance: Fossils—primarily teeth—are among the most recognizable and informative prehistoric remains, offering insights into size, feeding behavior, and marine ecology of the Miocene and Pliocene oceans. Megalodon teeth vary in size, shape, and serration patterns, providing clues to age, growth, and hunting specialization.

• Scientific and Collector Value: Megalodon remains are highly prized by paleontologists, educators, and fossil collectors. These fossils represent a window into ancient apex predator dynamics, showcasing the immense power, adaptations, and ecological role of this iconic prehistoric shark.