Fossilized Megalodon Tooth with Turquoise and Pyrite Inlay, 4.7"

Ancient Seas, Middle Miocene to end of Pliocene eras,. A fossilized tooth of Otodus megalodon, the largest macropredatory shark ever to have lived, its broad triangular blade and heavy bilobed root mineralized to charcoal grey and deep black by long burial in marine sediment. Fine serrations survive along both cutting edges beneath a distinct chevron bourlette, and scattered golden flecks of pyrite have formed in the enamel during fossilization. The root cavity has been inlaid with a mosaic of crushed turquoise, irregular tesserae set in dark matrix that fans downward toward the tip in a lapidary treatment applied long after the tooth left the seabed. Presented on the included custom stand, which displays the labial face and the inlaid root together. Otodus megalodon cruised the world's warm oceans from roughly 23 to 3.6 million years ago, reaching an estimated fifty feet and replacing its teeth in conveyor-belt rows throughout life, which is why teeth, rather than the cartilaginous skeleton, are effectively the animal's whole fossil record. The tooth's black-to-grey coloration is a chemical autograph of its burial environment: phosphatic and iron-rich sediments substitute minerals into the dentine over millions of years, and the same reducing conditions precipitate the small brassy pyrite inclusions visible on the blade. The Atlantic coastal plain of South Carolina, where Miocene and Pliocene marine beds are eroded by rivers and dredged offshore, remains one of the most productive megalodon grounds in the world. The turquoise inlay is a contemporary lapidary embellishment in the American Southwest idiom, not an ancient or cultural treatment. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. Item # 204963

Estimate:£186.88

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