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Hello Everyone! New here. Moved to SC about 3 years ago. Had no idea of the rich marine paleontological history of the Carolinas until my wife stumbled on an Angustidens tooth on a NC beach with her sister last year! Since then I have been hooked. But really only purchasing items. About 6 months ago I was introduced to organized digs and excursions, and only within the last month have I actually gone out exploring on my own. I actually met a forum member the other day hunting, so sorry but I forgot her name! Perhaps she is on this site. I was the dork creek sifting - not really finding much. Anyways, excited to be here. I am over the moon with this hobby. Odd intro bit - but I was raised in an overly religious and restrictive household. Never bought explanations it had to offer as to the beginning of life. But then school came, marriage, family, and military service and I really never had the time to scratch the "origins of life" itch, answer it my own way, until now. So, imagine my elation to discover all that the east coast has to offer in terms of amateur paleontology. Anyways, happy to be here. Primary interests lie in the marine history of the Carolinas. Mostly sharks, ancient whales, etc.

I also have an Otodus Obliquus which I’ll upload once back home.

Between 2020-23, two collectors who scuba dive for fossils throughout Florida and Georgia have recovered 5 chesapecten (including two paired valves) with morphological characteristics that signal a Miocene age. These characteristics include an acute byssal notch and a byssal fasciole that is strongly differentiated from the shell’s auricle in terms of sculpture and elevation. The largest of the adult shells also displays an active ctenolium. Additionally, one of the paired specimens displays significant gapes between valves when matched (the other pair was preserved as found by glue according to the collector and cannot be matched). These aforementioned traits are also emblatic of Miocene age for Chesapecten. These shells were recovered from the following areas in Georgia and Florida: Savannah River, Effingham County, Georgia (Collector 1) Specimen 1 (W = 108.0 mm) R valve L valve R valve - close up of byssal notch and fasciole (most of fasciole has been degraded) R valve - close up of ornamentation L valve - close up of ornamentation Profile Close up of matrix, gray sand Savannah River, Effingham County, Georgia (Collector 1) Specimen 2 (W = 101.6 mm) R valve R valve - interior R valve - close up of byssal notch and fasciole L valve - note barnacles are modern species, not fossilized L valve - interior L valve - close up of ornamentation on auricle Side profile of pair, showing gapes Front profile of pair, showing gapes Cumberland Island, Camden County Georgia (Collector 2) Specimen 3 (W = 114.3 mm) R valve, note encrustation is recent not fossilized R valve interior, thick shell apparent Close up of byssal notch and fasciole Close up of ctenolium, although modern encrustation makes it difficult to see what is going on in the ctenolium Close up of ornamentation St Mary’s River, Nassau County, Florida (Collector 2) Specimen 4 (W = 117.5 mm) R Valve R valve interior, active ctenolium and thick shell apparent Byssal notch and fasciole Close up of original sediment, note the olive and gray coloration Profile Suwanee River, Hamilton County, Florida (Collector 2) Specimen 5 (W = 69.9 mm) R valve, subadult specimen R valve interior, shell is thick for a subadult Unfortunately, stratigraphic data were not collected for these shells. However, among the Miocene strata from Coastal Georgia and NE Florida currently described in the literature, the Ebenezer Formation of Weems and Edwards (2001), of Upper Miocene (Tortonian age), appears to be the most suitable match based on the age of the Ebenezer and the characteristics of the shells found. The shells collected resemble Chesapecten middlesexensis of the Upper Miocene of Virginia and North Carolina. The Ebenezer was originally defined by Huddleston (1988) as a member of the Coosawhatchie Formation (Middle Miocene). Weems and Edwards later elevated it to formational rank based on differences in lithological and dinoflagellate composition compared to the rest of the Coosawhatchie. The Ebenezer formation consists of gray to olive-gray, fine- to medium-grained micaceous sand and stretches from South Carolina to NE Florida. Five mappable members are apparent and separable by distinct unconformities. The lower four members correspond to dinoflagellate zone DN 8, while the uppermost member corresponds to DN 9. Revision of the Ebenezer to Formational Rank from Weems and Edwards (2001) According to the dinoflagellate zonation of de Verteuil and Norris (1996), DN 8-9 aligns with the Little Cove Point Member (DN 8) and the Windmill Point Member (DN 9) of the St Mary’s Formation of Maryland and Virginia. Alignment of the Ebenezer to St Mary's Formation of MD and VA from Weems, Self-Trail and Edwards (2004) All specimens display similar characteristics which include an acute byssal notch, differentiated byssal fasciole, slightly inflated right valve, and a hinge size in adult specimens that is relatively small for adult chesapecten with the exception of Chesapecten covepointensis (DN 8 St Mary’s Formation) and in some cases Chesapecten santamaria (DN 9 St Mary’s Formation). Also, these shells could possibly be divided into two distinct variants although issues with preservation which appears to be somewhat better outside the Savannah River region may exaggerate these differences. Nevertheless, the Chesapecten collected outside of the Savannah River Region exhibit stronger, more raised ribs and have thicker, heavier shells compared to the specimens collected within the Savannah River region whose shells are thinner and ribs are lower and less pronounced. This is especially true of Specimen 1. Possibly that these variants originate from different members of the Ebenezer Formation. According to Weems and Edwards, “outside of the Savannah region, beds no older than dinoflagellate zone DN 9 occur”. This suggests that the shells collected outside of the Savannah River Region likely belong to Bed 5 of the Ebenezer Formation. Figure 3 of Weems and Edwards (2001) [shown below] suggests that someone scuba diving for fossils in the Savannah River is likely to collect in Bed 4. Therefore, it is possible that the Chesapecten specimens recovered from the Savannah River belong to Bed 4 of the Ebenezer Formation. This stratigraphic information aligns with the observed morphological differences among the specimens and tentatively supports the significance of these variations. Needless to say, more specimens are needed to confirm. Lateral Gradation of the Ebenezer from Georgia to Florida - Fig. 3 from Weems and Edwards (2001) Ward (1992) has remarked that the period between Chesapecten santamaria (DN 9) and Chesapecten middlesexensis (DN 10) represents a considerable loss of the fossil record in the stratigraphic succession of chesapecten. These Chesapecten, which bear a strong overall resemblance to Chesapecten middlesexensis while displaying traits of preceding species (smaller hinge, more differentiated byssal fasicole), could help bridge this apparent gap. Notably, no other Chesapecten in this age range outside of Maryland and Virginia have been reported in the literature. Personal Remarks The equivalency of these shells to the St Mary’s Formation, not the Eastover formation is surprising to me given the strong resemblance to C. middlesexensis. If anyone knows of any findings correlating DN 8-9 to the Eastover, or of the Ebenezer to DN 10 please let me know. Also, if anyone has any additional samples of similar shells from similar sites, even in SC please let me know. Thank you! References de Verteuil, L., and Norris, G., 1996, Miocene dinoflagellate stratigraphy and systematics of Maryland and Virginia: Micropaleontology, vol. 42 (Supplement), 172 p. Huddlestun, P.F., 1988, A revision of the lithostratigraphic units of the coastal plain of Georgia; the Miocene through the Holocene: Georgia Geologic Survey Bulletin, no. 104, 162 p. Ward, L.W, 1992, Molluscan biostratigraphy of the Miocene, Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America, VMNH Memoirs, no 2, 152p. Weems, R.E, Edwards, L.E., 2001, Geology of Oligocene, Miocene, and younger deposits in the Coastal Area of Georgia: U.S. Geological Survey, no 131, 129 p. Weems, R.E, Self-Trail J., Edwards, L.E., 2004, Supergroup stratigraphy of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains (Middle? Jurassic through Holocene, eastern North America): Southeastern Geology, volume 42, p 191-216

Hello there! Do you think it is a tooth of Megalodon? It came from Calvert Cliffs. Thank you!

Hey guys, I've been off the radar for awhile .. work you know .. been working on Siggraph for those of you who are familiar with software development. Just wanted to start a new topic here .. This one is right at 3.00" - 7.62cm C. carcharias Bahia Inglesa Formation South of Caldera Provincia Copiapo III Regio de Atacama Chile

I recently bought this tooth from an online auction site. It is listed as being 100% natural. I am a beginner to collection fossils, but especially the back looks a bit patched up. Hope some of you more knowledgable collectors can help me on this. This last picture I was sent by the seller, when it was still in it's matrix.

Hello, i saw this Megalodon tooth for sale today. The description says, its really heavy, but the seller doesnt know, If its real or not. So i basicly ask for two people. Its not known where it was found, but i think its real, the form matches, it has stripes and serrations. So what do you think about it ?

I live in Orlando and I have been dying dying dying to find some shark teeth. The peace river and Venice beach and all that are just too far to take trips all of the time. Does anyone know of any locations that are within an hour of time that are not a beach for shark teeth around orlando or clermont

Out hunting yesterday. Sun Shining, pretty warm and I could find deep water... A lot of small colorful shark teeth and other marine fossils but I was missing most fossils from land based fauna until the very end of the hunt. So, Hemi, Tiger, Lemon, Bull, Dusky, most with light roots and blue or cream colored blades. Add in sea urchin spines, Stingray teeth and Barb frags, Sawfish rostral frags. The 3 Megs... One early. I like the color , and the almost perfectly consistent serrations.. Even broken at 39 mm , a nice find Another Meg 44 mm late. Complete, good serrations, a little feeding damage on the tip. I took the photo on my screened porch.. Not an unpleasant effect. Also little cusp, An Atavism... This from @siteseer in an old thread. .... Having lateral cusplets remained in the genes of the species millions of years after it was basic tooth character. Occasionally, the gene for cusplets, which had been "switched off" would switch on randomly and an individual would have teeth with cusplets. You wouldn't call it a pathology but just a rare expression of an ancestral trait. A very good 36 mm Bulla, that I'll try to identify.. I found a Bulla identified as Beluga whale at this location last year. Two fossil fragments showed up in the last sieve.. The 1st one at 27 mm, I think is a mammal ear bone because I have found similar at other sites. I am a little mystified by Nerve/Blood vessel canal on the bottom photo. and then this 34 mm enamel fragment of a mammal tooth... Similar to Mastodon or Gomphothere, but the best match might be Rhino. I have never found any Rhino fossil here and it would imply late Miocene (8-10 mya). That would be exciting. Enjoy...

Thank you for adding me. I hope this is the correct place to add this photo and request assistance. I was given these teeth and need help to identify them. Any help is appreciated.

I am trying to find out what kinda fossil this maybe thanks

Hello everyone! Ive been offered this Megalodon tooth, its from Indonesia and measures 6.29 inches. I'm assuming 20% of the root has been restored, not too sure though this is the first time of me trying to differentiate fakes in Megalodons.

Hi, everyone. this is part 1 of my growing fossil collection. I will show more of my collection later. Images: 1. Carcharodon Hastalis ( found by me) 2. Scylirhinoid vertebrae (found by me) 3. Unknown Theropod tooth (bought) 4. 13.5 cm (5.34 inch) megalodon tooth (bought) 5. Tiger shark tooth (bought) 6. Bull shark tooth (bought)

I went into my fossil room last night to get a little time to myself, but ended up finding a very unpleasant surprise. It seems that someone or something (I’m guessing cat or kids) knocked my Meg tooth off of its shelf. The resulting fall broke the tooth into 3 main pieces. The good news is that they fit together pretty well, and besides a few missing chips it should glue up nicely. This Meg isn’t anything fancy but it holds a lot of sentimental value as it was the first fossil my wife purchased all on her own as a gift for me. I’d like to repaired it as best I can and so am trying to decide what glue to use. I thought about using a basic cyanoacrylate glue but I think that would be too thin and just soak into the pores of the fossil. Maybe a thicker viscosity gel type? Or… would some sort of epoxy be better? Gorilla glue? Paraloid? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I just got a megalodon tooth a few days ago. It has coral on the top of it. Is it fossilised or modern? The tooth itself is estimated to be around 5 million years, and it was found in Wilmington, North Carolina.

I had some time to get back out to the cliffs on Saturday, the wind was rough and it was calling for rain after 10am, so kayaking wasn’t an option and I wanted to be off the beach before the rain got bad. I parked and walked down to the beach a half hour before sunrise to begin my search. As expected the water was very rough, and very murky. I knew I wouldn’t be able to find much of anything below the tide line, and it would be hard to be able to grab something out of the wash before another wave hit. I moved quickly checking the higher shell line and found some decent teeth but nothing to special, until I found what would have been a nice megalodon but a large chunk of the tip was missing, I also found a nice epiphysis disk and shark vertebra before turning around. I didn’t know what my luck would be like on the walk back but I was still hopeful the rough water would wash up something great. Then I got my find of the day when a 1.81” hastalis washed up in front of me. Before getting back to the truck a got another heartbreaking megalodon fragment and another nice hastalis. The conditions were rough, and I was getting a little aggravated feeling like I was missing so much, it also didn’t help that the waves were soaking me even with my waders. Non the less it’s always good to get out and check the beach when I can because you never know which wave will wash up that find of a lifetime. Thanks for reading y’all, until next time!

While the Megalodon tooth seems to exist as THE find for many fossil hunters and/or amateur marine paleontologists alike (and rightly so!) it's never been my own personal "holy grail." However. My partner, who graciously tags along and searches with me whenever I drag him out on hunts often hours (or even days) of driving away, is absolutely enamored by the idea of finding one of these guys. I've heard many good things about Ernst Quarries/Sharktooth Hill and the private land surrounding it in Kern County, but I've also heard incredible things about Florida creek hunting - mostly Peace River and some, unfortunately, Top-Secret spots. We luckily have the opportunity right now to go on one (or both if we play our (credit) cards right) of these trips and was hoping those more experienced in the culture of "Meg Madness" would be able to provide any advice, pointers, opinions, comments, concerns, etc.?

Hello. I am a beginner fossil hunter and collector. About an hour ago, I went to the bookstore near my country property and bought two teeth. One I believe I have identified as a Tiger shark tooth, coming from Bone Valley (Polk County, Florida). However the second is more mysterious. It appears to be a small baby megalodon tooth without a bourlette. It measures 1.9 cm (0.75 inches). It also appears to have potentially lost part of its root. It appears vaguely similar in shape to my Megalodon tooth. If someone can potentially identify it, that would be great!

I found this tooth on a dredge island in georgia it’s probably the biggest piece of megalodon tooth ive ever found and was wondering if theres any experts that could say how big the tooth was whole. Ive done some speculating with a drawing but wanted other opinions.

I hit the beach early this morning hoping for a nice low tide and calm, clear water. That wasn’t the case, the water was choppy and murky and the tide was a lot higher than I expected. None the less I treaded on and stumbled on a little 1.32” meg tumbling in the wash. Continuing I found a small handful of little teeth and a nice epiphysis disk with a 2” diameter before turning around. With the water being rough I was still hopeful something nice would wash out in front of me. Then I spot my biggest heartbreaker of the season, the tip of what would have been a large meg. The tip alone was 1.62” with a gorgeous brown color; comparing it with my 4” meg back home it looks like the tooth could have been of similar size. I begin checking through the debris of fresh falls before heading back to the truck and I’m glad I did. I spot a pretty 1.9” meg sitting on top of a debris pile. Definitely pulled the trip together and made the most of non-ideal conditions. But regardless if what I find I always enjoy a walk along the shoreline looking for prehistoric treasures. Thanks for reading y’all until next time!

I got back out to the Calvert Cliffs to do some more hunting yesterday, the low tide wasn’t till noon so I got to the beach around 9am to begin my search. I had more beach than I was expecting which was a pleasant surprise but the wind made the water a little choppy and murky. With it being a weekday there was only one other person out on the beach walking ahead of me. I was careful not to walk in their footsteps, searching the spots they passed when I see a root poking out of the sand, I move the sand out of the way to unearth a beautiful 1.75” broad hastalis! A great start, I really didn’t need to find much else to make to the trip, and it was only the first find! I continue on and eventually the person ahead of me decided to turn back, leaving me a lot of unsearched beach ahead. I found some nice hemis and a dolphin tooth, then I spot what I thought was a chunk of bone rolling in the wash. I pick it up to reveal the corner chunk of a massive megalodon, it looks like it would have been at least 4”. Absolute heartbreaker, but it’s still neat to find and gets my hopes up for the future. Soon after my hopes were realized when I spot a gorgeous 2” megalodon/chubutensis wedged between some clay blocks, unmoved by the waves rolling over it. At this point I was at the end of the beach and ready to begin my walk back, already very happy with my finds so far, and the waves were mixing everything up so I still had hope for another good find. Not too long after turning around, I spot what looked like a large root of an odontocete tooth rolling in the wash, I scoop up and reveal what I believe a 1.8” squalodon tooth, unfortunately a good portion of the crown is broken off so I’m not sure. While the break on the crown is heartbreaking it’s still an amazing find and I was quite ecstatic. The day wasn’t done yet though, before I got back to the truck I found a nice shark vertebra, and a little beat up meg/chub. It was a great day out on the bay and even though I had some heartbreakers, I definitely had a couple trip makers! Thanks for reading y’all, till next time.

Looking for a recommendation for a Peace River guide.

Me and my girlfriend got back out to the Calvert Cliffs to do some hunting again yesterday, a resident with beach access has started to allow me to park and walk down to a good stretch of beach, saving us from needed to kayak there for access.(Although I love kayaking the bay it’s nice to get a break sometimes) we got to the beach a little after sunrise to begin to search. The water was a little high but it was calm and relatively clear, and there was a really thick shell line on the beach, so I was hopeful for some good finds. First find of the day my girlfriend found a really nice lower cow shark tooth that had settled on top of the shell line. As we continued on, I was searching the water and shell line while dragging my scoop behind me. I lifted my scoop and looked in to see a lower symphyseal cow shark tooth! As I went to look a little closer it fell through the mesh on my scoop, I shouted and dove on top of it. It’s .53” wide and is missing most of the root but the blade is complete. A little further down the beach I found a nice epiphysis disk with a .7” diameter, strangely most of my complete epiphysis disks I’ve found have been within 20yrds of that spot. Things slowed down for a little but we were still finding a lot of nice sized Physogaleus teeth. We passed and chatted with a couple other groups of fossil hunters, thinking now our finds would thin out even more, I was proven wrong when a large 1.5” hemipristis and a micro megalodon wash out in front of me. As we neared some fresh cliff falls the water clarity got worse, but a wave at the right time gave me the water clarity I needed to spot a beautiful 1.83” megalodon/chubutensis out in the water. The walk back fossil finds were few and far between but we did spot a Belted Kingfisher and a Bald Eagle which can be just as nice sometimes. It was another great day out along the Calvert Cliffs. I’m thank for anytime I get to spend at the beach but, finds like today, bird sightings and chatting with other people passionate about the same thing really make me appreciate being able to do this. Until next time y’all, thanks for reading!

Just posting for those who wanna see cool teeth. This is my best megalodon tooth and my second largest meg being 4.5-4.6 inches. Found in a florida creek during my last trip.