Description:
Megalodon shark tooth specimen piece and preserved in a box.

Material:
Shark tooth

Maker/Artist:
Unknown

Date:
16th century

Provenance:
n/a

Size of Artwork:
H. 4.25 x W. 3.25 x D. .25 in

Weight (LBS)
.30

Condition:
In excellent condition

History:
Megalodon meg-?-l?-don; meaning "big tooth", from Ancient Greek: µ??a? (megas) "big, mighty" and ?do?? (odoús), "tooth"—whose stem is odont-, as seen in the genitive case form ?d??t??, odóntos)[1] is an extinct species of shark that lived approximately 15.9 to 2.6 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era (middle Miocene to end of Pliocene).[2]The taxonomic assignment of C. megalodon has been debated for nearly a century, and is still under dispute. The two major interpretations are Carcharodon megalodon (under family Lamnidae) or Carcharocles megalodon (under the family Otodontidae).[3] Consequently, the scientific name of this species is commonly abbreviated C. megalodon in the literature.C. megalodon is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful predators in vertebrate history,[4] and likely had a profound impact on the structure of marine communities.[5] Fossil remains suggest that this giant shark reached a maximum length of 18 metres (59 ft),[2] and also affirm that it had a cosmopolitan distribution.[3] Scientists suggest that C. megalodon looked like a stockier version of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias