Megalodon!
Megalodon reached about 50 ft in length and about 40000 lb in weight. The mouth was 6 feet across! (For scale, the grey bar is 4 ft long)
About 100 million years ago (to about 40 million years ago) this shark, Cretolamna appendiculata, appeared.
It still retains the cusplets, with a large difference between the front teeth (right) and the side teeth (left).
This shark tooth dates to about 55 million years ago, and is also from Morocco.
Descending from Cretolamna is Otodus obliquus, appearing about 58 million years ago and surviving
to about 45 million years ago. Notice the shape is becoming triangular,
with the cusplets developing a definate shape, and the main
cusp of the tooth filling in to the cusplets. A very crowded look! There is not much difference between front teeth (right)
and side teeth (left) anymore. And both are becoming large, as these
teeth are one half full adult size. A big 30 ft long shark!
This tooth is about 52 million years old, and is from the phosphate mines in Khouribga, Morocco.
Which brings us to Carcharocles angustidens, the immediate ancestor to Megalodon.
Appearing from about 35 million years ago to about 15 million years ago, this shark`s teeth has developed serrated edges,
and still retains residual cusplets. This tooth is about 28.5 million
years old, from the Chandler Bridge formation, South Carolina.
This tooth is one half full adult size (which would be about 5 inches), and represents a very large predator!
Which brings us at last to Megalodon, the largest of the shark carnivores ever, Carcharocles megalodon.
A warm water shark, likely a whale-eater, they appeared about 18 million
years ago, and survived until about 1.6 million years ago.
This tooth is also only one half of the full adult size of almost 7
inches! This tooth is about 9 million years old, and is from South
Carolina.
As seen from outside the mouth.
As seen from the inside of the mouth. ...the food's view...
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