Megalodon - Peruvian

[BellamyBlake]

I have a question that, to an extent, is about this specific tooth. But it's also a general one. The seller claims this is a Peruvian Megalodon. How can that claim be verified? The colors seem to match up, but I've also seen similarly light-colored teeth from other localities. Is there anything else I can look for, or is it mostly the seller's reputation one has to go off? I'm interested in collecting Megalodon teeth from various exotic localities, so this is also a concern for Megs from Java, the Caribbean, New Caledonia, etc.

 

Other than color, I know that teeth from New Caledonia teeth often contain damage from dredging, so I suppose that's another way to verify a claim for that locality.

 

Thank you,

Bellamy

 

 

[Praefectus]

There is tremendous variability in megalodon teeth, even from the same location. That said, there are some general characteristics such as color, wear, and fossilization that can be used to get a sense of where a tooth may have come from. For example, New Caledonia teeth and Meg shelf teeth from NC both have a water worn appearance because they were found in the ocean. New Caledonia teeth generally have a white-bleached color with spongy roots while meg shelf teeth are generally grayish-yellow with lots of pits and wear (lots of exceptions). Other *general* locality features are that Indo teeth have eroded roots, bone valley teeth are small with blue/gold crowns and white roots, lee creek teeth are often white/pale yellow, Caribbean teeth are usually damaged by mining equipment, etc. The more teeth you see, the more you will get a feel for where teeth come from. Note: Color and fossilization should not be used to establish locality. Although there are certain features you can look for, you usually have to trust the seller that the tooth is from where they say it is from. 

 

The tooth you posted looks like it could be from Peru. I don't see any reason to doubt the seller. 

[BellamyBlake]

42 minutes ago, Praefectus said:

There is tremendous variability in megalodon teeth, even from the same location. That said, there are some general characteristics such as color, wear, and fossilization that can be used to get a sense of where a tooth may have come from. For example, New Caledonia teeth and Meg shelf teeth from NC both have a water worn appearance because they were found in the ocean. New Caledonia teeth generally have a white-bleached color with spongy roots while meg shelf teeth are generally grayish-yellow with lots of pits and wear (lots of exceptions). Other *general* locality features are that Indo teeth have eroded roots, bone valley teeth are small with blue/gold crowns and white roots, lee creek teeth are often white/pale yellow, Caribbean teeth are usually damaged by mining equipment, etc. The more teeth you see, the more you will get a feel for where teeth come from. Note: Color and fossilization should not be used to establish locality. Although there are certain features you can look for, you usually have to trust the seller that the tooth is from where they say it is from. 

 

The tooth you posted looks like it could be from Peru. I don't see any reason to doubt the seller. 

Thank you! It's like I thought - I'll need to research the locality and determine what the teeth there usually look like in terms of not only color but wear to have an idea of authenticity. It's not enough to know for sure, and that's where I guess I should only deal with reputable folks.

[aeon.rocks]

Agree. With most what Praefectus said... But always carefull with some sellers and localities, in example there are Sellers who will misidentify locality to make the tooth more valuable - in example some Florida teeth with no characteristics to Bone valley megs are sometimes refered as BV megs. Same goes for Peruvian megs, sometimes... In generall you can guess the locality by preservation, textures, colors, but all that can vary in specific localities (keep in mind that there are different deposits in some localities, which produce different preservation and colors). You can't miss New Caledonia megs, once you see a few the preservation and colors are very typical. Same goes for Bone valley megs. And Chile megs. Cuban megs have a specific look too, but sometimes easy to confuse with some other sites. Same for Peruvian... Regarding this tooth, I believe it's Indonesian tooth. Restoration on the root and pick damage make me almost certain...