Megalodon tooth identification
A very large, broad, nearly equilateral triangle with fine, even serrations on both edges and a broad V-shaped bourlette (dark chevron band) between crown and root. Adult teeth have no side cusplets.
At a glance
| Scientific name | Otodus megalodon |
|---|---|
| Family | Otodontidae |
| Status | Extinct |
| Time range | Early Miocene to Early Pliocene (about 20 to 3.6 Ma) |
| Typical tooth size in our reference | 8 to 17 cm (3.1 to 6.7 inches) along the slant |
| Where teeth turn up | US Atlantic Coastal Plain (Maryland to Florida); US Gulf Coast (Florida to Texas); US Pacific coast; South America; Europe; North Africa (Morocco, Egypt); Australia and New Zealand; Asia. US states with known finds: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, California |
| How common | Uncommon to rare (large, whole teeth are rare) |
What to look for
| Crown shape | Erect, convex in cross-section |
|---|---|
| Serrations | Fine |
| Enamel | Smooth |
| Neck between crown and root | Bourlette |
| Root | Thick and broad, a shallow U or V across the base, lobes rounded, about as wide as the crown |
| Root groove | None |
| Side cusplets | None in adult teeth; tiny vestigial bumps on some juveniles |
| Position in the jaw | Upper anteriors are broad, symmetric triangles; lower anteriors are narrower and more upright; laterals lean toward the back; posteriors are small and asymmetric |
The clues that matter most
- Fine, very regular serrations along both edges
- Broad dark chevron (bourlette) between crown and root
- Large size (over 8 cm) with a thick root
Signs it is probably something else
- A groove down the root
- Coarse, irregular serrations
- Clear serrated side cusplets (think chubutensis)
How it differs from look-alikes
- Chubutensis teeth: Cusplets alone do not settle it. In a Calvert Cliffs study about 87 percent of teeth from 20 to 17 million years ago had cusplets, falling to none by 7.6 million years ago, and the authors concluded the two cannot be cleanly separated. Use the age of the deposit and the whole tooth, and answer "megalodon or chubutensis" when unsure. Juvenile megalodon teeth can keep tiny cusplets.
- Great White Shark teeth: Great White teeth are far smaller (rarely over 7 cm), have coarser serrations and no bourlette.
Many teeth cannot be pinned to one species. A careful answer names the likeliest candidates and says how sure it is. See how identification works and shark tooth anatomy.
Fossil, recent and collecting notes
Teeth over 12 cm are scarce; many are broken or repaired. Reproductions are common in shops.
The name means big tooth. Its teeth reach about 17 cm along the slant, but its length of roughly 15 to 18 meters is only an estimate worked out from teeth, because no complete skeleton is known.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Rules change and differ by place, so check with the landowner or the agency that manages the land.
Sources
- Cappetta, H. 2012. Chondrichthyes: Mesozoic and Cenozoic Elasmobranchii: Teeth. Handbook of Paleoichthyology 3E. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil.
- Kent, B.W. 1994. Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region. Egan Rees & Boyer.
- Purdy, R.W. et al. 2001. The Neogene sharks, rays, and bony fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. In Ray & Bohaska (eds), Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 90.
- Pimiento, C. & Clements, C.F. 2014. When did Carcharocles megalodon become extinct? A new analysis of the fossil record. PLoS ONE 9(10): e111086.
- Boessenecker, R.W. et al. 2019. The Early Pliocene extinction of the mega-toothed shark Otodus megalodon: a view from the eastern North Pacific. PeerJ 7: e6088.
- Shimada, K., Becker, M.A. & Griffiths, M.L. 2021. Body, jaw, and dentition lengths of macrophagous lamniform sharks, and body size evolution in Lamniformes with special reference to 'off-the-scale' gigantism of the megatooth shark, Otodus megalodon. Historical Biology 33: 2543-2559.
- The Paleobiology Database (paleobiodb.org), taxonomy and stratigraphic ranges, checked Nov 2026.
- Perez, V.J. et al. 2019. The transition between Carcharocles chubutensis and Carcharocles megalodon (Otodontidae, Chondrichthyes): lateral cusplet loss through time. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38(6): e1546732 (doi 10.1080/02724634.2018.1546732).
Compiled from the published sources listed below. This guide has not yet been reviewed by an outside paleontologist. Last updated November 11, 2026.