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Megateeth Fossil Finds
I am often asked to show
some of the fossils that I have found while diving. I have
compiled pictures and some information on what I have. I
am not an expert in fossil identification, but some people
that are helped me out.
Vance from Earth Relics
Company identified several of my fossils. He was right on
with everything he said and helped me to get it started.
I really appreciate his help.
Harry Pristis sent me several
e-mails and spent a lot of time helping me. He pointed me
in the right direction and gave me info on almost every
fossil on the page. He also gave me some great suggestions
for improving the page. I am very grateful for all his help.
After reading through several
books and with all of Vance's and Harry's help, I was a
little overwhelmed with information. I am sure that I missed
a few things that they told me. Any errors or omissions
are totally my fault.
The purpose of this page
is to show some of the different and more interesting fossils
that I have found over the years, but if you see any errors,
please e-mail me at bill@megateeth.com. With any luck I
will update this page with some new and interesting finds!!!
These fossils are not for sale.
Bill
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Geologic Timescale - Cenozoic Era
| Epoch |
Started (Years
Ago) |
Ended (Years
Ago) |
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| Holocene |
11,000 |
Present |
| Pleistocene |
2,000,000 |
11,000 |
| Pliocene |
5,000,000 |
2,000,000 |
| Miocene |
23,000,000 |
5,000,000 |
| Oligocene |
34,000,000 |
23,000,000 |
| Eocene |
56,000,000 |
34,000,000 |
| Paleocene |
65,000,000 |
56,000,000 |
Gavialosuchus americanus (extinct
saltwater crocodile)
Miocene
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This is a 11" jaw fragment with
6 teeth. I found this while diving. It was so
covered with barnacles and sea grass that I almost could
not identify it. I came close to throwing it away
until I saw the teeth. When I found it, only three
teeth remained, but I had similar teeth to fill in the
missing sections. |
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Recent Find
Unrestored 22" long Crocodilian jaw section. When
I found this it was broken into two sections. A third
piece came off while I was digging it out. I will update
photos as I find teeth to fill it in and clean it up.
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MAMMOTH and MASTODON
Mammoth Tooth
(Pleistocene
- Holocene)
The Mammoth held four teeth in it's mouth at one time
and went through seven sets of teeth in it's lifetime.
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The view of this massive 10 lb. tooth shows the chewing
surface at the top and root structure near the bottom.
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Side
View
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Mammoth Tooth
(Pleistocene
- Holocene) |
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Verticle plate structures and chewing
surface can be seen.
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American Mastodon Tooth
(Pleistocene
- Holocene)
I
had been fossil diving for over two years before I found
this, my first and nicest mastodon tooth. It made my day.
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Gomphothere
Tooth
(Pleistocene
- Holocene)
Much of the root structure
is missing from this tooth, but it is still very nice.
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(Pleistocene
- Holocene)
Tusk
Fragments
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| MEGALODON
TOOTH
(Miocene-Pliocene)
Of all of the creatures that have ever
existed, none are more awe-inspiring than the Megalodon.
This giant shark is thought to have lived in the Miocene
and Pliocene Epochs.
This shark grew to over 60 feet in length
and had a mass of more than 50 tons. Compare that to the
shark from the movie "JAWS" which would have
been about 20 feet in length and had a mass of around
2 tons. It is mind boggling to imagine something that
much larger than the most feared predator in the oceans
today.
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Modern Great White tooth with a 6-5/8" Megalodon
Tooth. This shark would have been more than 20 times as
massive as the shark in the film "JAWS".
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Juvenile Megalodon Teeth
These mini-megs are favorites of many collectors. |
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Great White Shark
(Miocene-Holocene)
Great White Shark teeth have remained virtually unchanged
for millions of years. Both fossilized and modern
Great White teeth are highly collectible. The
picture below shows an upper and lower Great White Shark
Tooth.
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Fossil Great White Teeth.
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Upper
Mako Teeth
These
upper Mako teeth measure 3-1/8" in length.
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Lower
Mako Teeth
Like the Megalodon, the lower Mako tooth
has a dagger like shape.
The tooth on the left is 3" long
and the tooth on the right is 2-3/4" long.
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Parotodus
Benedini
(False Mako)
(Miocene – Holocene)
These rare teeth are often mistaken for
Mako teeth. The deep root, thick blade and sharp
hook make these easier to identify. |
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Hemipristis Serra
(Miocene-Pliocene)
Also called Snaggletooth Shark Teeth because
of giant serrations. The largest that I have found
is 1-3/4" in length. |
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Tiger Shark
Teeth
(Miocene-Pliocene)
These tiny teeth
usually measure under 1" and are common finds on
beaches along the east coast. |
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Shark Vertebra
Because the shark was comprised mostly
of cartilage, it is rare to find other shark fossil. The
exception is the rare shark Vertebra.
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Billfish
Fossilized Rostra
These
range from 6" to 13" in length. |
Whale Fossils
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Fossilized
Sperm Whale Teeth
(Miocene-Pliocene)
The sperm whale is thought to have been
one of the main food sources for the Megalodon. The
very tip of the tooth has enamel and most off the rest
of the tooth was unexposed. The teeth pictured above
range from 3" to 5" in length. |
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This
is the largest whale tooth that I have found measures
over 7" and weighs over 2 lbs.
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Baleen Whale
Vertebra
This giant vertebra is 15" in diameter and weighs
over 10 pounds.
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Baleen Whale
Inner Earbone
(Miocene-Pliocene)
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Fish
Skull
Fossil
3" x 1.5" |
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Ray Fossils
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Ray Teeth
(Miocene-Pliocene)
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Sting Ray Barb Base
Dermal Denticle
(Miocene-Pliocene)
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Unknown
Vert.
6.5"h
4.2"w
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