Natural History - Megalodon Giant Shark Fossil Tooth

On an irregular matrix. 102 grams, 75 mm



From the Sentinel Butte Formation, Morton County, North Dakota, USA. From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

From Carcharocles megalodon, displaying good polished enamel and sharp serrations; with information card including provenance to verso. 172 grams, 10.3 cm



From Aurora, Beaufont County, North Carolina, USA. Ex Fossils UK. From the private collection of a Lancashire gentleman.

Carcharodon megalodon is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful marine predators in vertebrate history and likely had a profound impact on structuring of the marine communities. Fossil remains indicate that this giant shark reached a length of more than 16 metres (52 ft) and also affirm that it had a cosmopolitan distribution. Scientists suggest that in life it looked like a stockier version of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias.

Knightia alta specimen on a rectangular matrix. 273 grams, 13 cm



From Wyoming (Green River Formation), USA. From an old Bristol, UK, collection.

In southwest Wyoming (and parts of Colorado and Utah) in the Green River Formation are found some of the world's most outstanding specimens of fossil fish. The Green River system was composed of three lakes: Lake Ulinta, Lake Gosiute and Fossil Lake. These Eocene lakes lay in a series of intermountain basins formed by geological events that uplifted the Rocky Mountains during the early Tertiary time. The climate was much different from the desert-like climate of this area today. Both the fauna (crocodiles, alligators, boa constrictors and some subtropical fish families) and the flora (such as large palm trees) indicate a climate much like that found along the Gulf Coast today. Large amounts of ash found in the sediments indicate that volcanoes were particularly active at this time.