Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at susanpenn36@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Yes, all of the teeth for sale are 100% real and authentic. They were all personally recovered by me or my husband 25-45 miles off the coast of southeastern North Carolina. No restoration has been done to any of the teeth and they are personally cleaned using a natural vinegar solution that removes unwanted ocean growth and sediment.
A Megalodon shark probably had between 280 and 336 teeth at a time and produced over 10,000 in a lifetime. A shark's tooth has no root, so some of their eating habits cause the teeth to break. When the teeth come out, they settle at the bottom of the ocean where they land in a sediment and become fossilized.
The two biggest factors in determining the value of a tooth are size and quality. Larger teeth are more impressive (but also more rare) so they have the higher prices. Once a tooth reaches the 6" mark the price can jump significantly because teeth of this size are very rare. A tooth that is perfectly intact with all of its serrations is also extremely rare, and obviously extremely impressive when you think about that tooth being on the earth for over 3 million years!
The Megalodon is estimated to have roamed the earth's oceans from 2 to 20 million years ago, during the Pliocene and Miocene eras. The largest Megalodons are estimated to have been between 50 and 66 feet long. With a mouth as large as a single garage door, this prehistoric shark had a big appetite. It is likely that the Megalodon fed on whales, manatees, seals, sea lions, large fish, and other sharks.
Changing patterns of ocean currents and competing with killer whales for the same prey may have caused their extinction. About 3-4 million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama (the land connecting the Americas) rose out of the sea. When this happened, the Pacific Ocean was cut off from the Atlantic Ocean. Scientists believe that a new current of cold, deep, North Atlantic water was formed during this time. This started a chain reaction of cooling sea water everywhere, which may have led to the last ice age. The Megalodon, which lived in warm water, may not have been able to adapt and thus, led to its extinction.
