Megalodon Teeth

The giant shark known collectively as Megalodon seems to capture the imagination more than almost any other sea-creature.  The enormous teeth they left behind trigger something in the human imagination.  This leads to any number of assumptions, misunderstandings, preconceptions, and just plain misinformation.  Since we offer these fossils in our store, I thought it appropriate to try to BRIEFLY provide some information, and point the reader to other sources of more detailed information.

1. The Megalodon were VERY LARGE sharks.  This may be intuitively obvious to many.  But, in our store, we routinely hear people assuming that teeth this large must come from dinosaurs.  Much disagreement exists over just how big.  But, it seems safe to conclude they were at least twice as long as the Great White Shark. 
2. Sharks produce many hundreds of teeth in their lifetime.  Therefore, shark teeth are a relatively common fossil.  HOWEVER, other shark fossils, such as bones, are quite rare (due to the cartilaginous skeleton).
3. The lack of articulated fossils (bones preserved in anatomically correct position) requires a very different approach to Paleontology...resulting in multiple opinions on Meg lineage.
4. Much physical evidence DOES exist indicating that Megs fed upon early whales.
5. Physical evidence does NOT exist indicating that Megs are still swimming somewhere.
6. Meg teeth are commonly measured on-the-diagonal.  That is from point to each corner of the root.
7. Size is a major determinate of price.  Each full inch of slant-length marks a significant price-point.  Under 2-inches is considered a pretty common size, with prices increasing significantly at 3, 4 and 5 inches.  Almost any tooth over 6 inches will draw a pretty impressive number of dollars.
8. Condition is the second driver of price.  The best teeth will have a complete tip, little/no chipping, sharp serrations, and complete bourrelet.  A small tooth in extraordinary condition may sell for much more than a larger tooth in average condition.
9. The bulk of Meg teeth are recovered by divers working in pretty scary environments...low visibility, sharks, alligators, etc.

For beginning or intermediate fossil-collectors, a really good article may be found at FossilGuy.com. Also, a more detailed (and more technical) discussion of the various arguments for Meg lineage may be found here.  Regardless of the 'final' decisions on Meg lineage, feeding habits, etc, these teeth remain among the largest, and most impressive, of those readily available to collectors.