FAQ – Megalodon
Where can I find Megalodon teeth?
Megalodon teeth have been found in many different locations around the globe. Teeth have been found in states such as California , Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Megalodon teeth have also been found in other countries across the globe Ex: Mexico, Cuba, Chile, New Caledonia, Peru, Panama, Australia, England, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,Morocco, Madagascar and Indonesia. Their teeth can be found in phosphate mines on the beach, diving in rivers and the ocean .Divers and fossil hunters have found their fossilized teeth as big as 7 3/8 inches.
Why are there so many Megalodon teeth?
One shark looses an average of 20,000 teeth in their life time . Some species loose up to 50,000 teeth in their lifetime. It only takes on average 7-10 days for the second row of teeth to move up to the first row. In 7 to 10 days later the first row of teeth end up on the bottom of the ocean where they land in a sediment and become fossilized.If you take 1 shark with 20,000 teeth times millions of sharks ,times millions of years there is a number that your calculator would not be able to handle all of the zeros.The reason sharks have so many teeth is that don’t have hands to eat around the bone like we do. They bite right into the bone or even right through the bone. This causes damage to the teeth breaking them or dislodging them from the jaw. If the didn’t have replacements they would starve.
How do I estimate the size of the Megalodon Shark by the tooth I have?
You can estimate the size of the Megalodon tooth if you have a primary tooth ( one of the top teeth in the jaw which is for the most part symmetrical) It is about 1/8 of an inch for every foot. So to determine the size of a shark with a 7 inch tooth: There are eight 1/8’s of an inch in a an inch . 8 X 7″ inches is 56 ft
How are shark teeth graded and priced?
The first 2 factors in grading shark teeth are Size and Quality.
- Size – Shark teeth are measured from the tip to the longest root side. Generally speaking the larger the tooth the higher the price depending on the quality.
- Quality – Determined by how complete the tooth is. The more chips, missing corners or missing tip the less the value.
- Other factors in pricing a tooth are:
- Locality
- Rarity
- Color
Why are teeth so many different colors?
Gray and Tan are the most common colors.
- Gray is from being mineralized in the Hawthorne formation which is a gray clay.
- Tan is from being mineralized in Sand.
- Red : Usually from early on set of Tannin .
- If you have ever seen fresh water rivers that have a tea colored water this is usually caused by Tannin. Tannin is decayed leaves and bark. As the leaves decay in fresh water pockets on the bottom of these rivers the water becomes acidic,the leaves deteriorate and leaves an iron residue on the tooth.
- Brown : Brown teeth are usually from being in Tannin and Leaves too long.
- Iron deposits build up from leaf decay trapped in pockets along the bottom. The iron starts building up on the teeth. Sometimes the iron coating can get very thick and is not removable as the iron has bonded to the tooth.
- White: White color teeth are usually from being replaced by calcium carbonate sediment (broken down seashells).
- A Great example of white color teeth are found in Summerville SC teeth. White teeth can also be caused from to much acid by Tannin (acidic burning).This would be in areas that the tooth is exposed on a flat bottom where the leaves don’t have a chance to accumulate. Such as tidal areas that removes the leaves stopping the accumulation of iron deposits.
- Orange: Orange is found from iron in a sandy type sediment. Georgia red clay is a great example. You can also find iron rich sand off shore in North Carolina.
- Black: Black teeth are usually caused by anaerobic bacteria or a black mud.
There are many other colors teeth come in: yellow, green,off-white etc .
Teeth have the ability to take on many other colors from the minerals they come in contact with.