Fossilized Megalodon Shark Tooth, Polished Black Enamel

Ancient Seas, Middle Miocene to End of Pliocene Eras. A fossilized and polished tooth of Otodus megalodon, the giant extinct shark, presented on a custom stand. Otodus megalodon is the largest predatory shark known and is identified mainly from teeth and vertebrae, as its cartilaginous skeleton rarely fossilized. The blade has been polished to reveal the dark inner layers of the tooth, giving it a smooth, glossy black surface framed by gray edges. A finely striated bourlette separates the blade from the matte root, which retains its natural textured surface. Otodus megalodon was the largest predatory shark known. Estimates based on tooth size put adults at around 15 meters or more. Like all sharks, it replaced its teeth continually throughout its life and shed thousands over a lifetime. That is why its fossil teeth survive in good numbers while its cartilage skeleton almost never does. The color of a fossil tooth comes from the minerals in the sediment where it lay, not from the living animal. Black enamel like this usually reflects phosphate-rich, low-oxygen burial conditions. Item # 204956

Estimate:$350

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