File:Carcharodon megalodon (fossil shark teeth) (Miocene; Aurora, North Carolina, USA) (34806949391).jpg

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Original file ‎(2,071 × 2,880 pixels, file size: 4.44 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents

Summary[edit]

Description

Carcharodon megalodon Agassiz, 1843 - fossil shark teeth from the Miocene of North Carolina, USA.

Carcharodon megalodon is an extinct giant white shark (a.k.a. megatooth shark). Like all sharks, the skeleton was cartilaginous, and the only commonly preserved fossil remains are teeth. The teeth of this ancient giant shark had serrated edges, which function to readily slice through flesh. Estimates of original body size vary from 12 meters to >35 meters long.

Fossil remains of Carcharodon megalodon are widespread in inferred warm-water marine deposits of Miocene & Pliocene age. Considering the size of megatooth sharks, their diet is inferred to have consisted principally of whales (shark tooth marks on fossil whale bones are not uncommon).

Shown above is a fragmentary tooth and a complete tooth. The fragment is a tooth tip inferred to have been damaged by shear during a mis-bite when the shark was still alive.

Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Lamniformes, Carcharodontidae (or Lamnidae, or Otodontidae)

Locality: Aurora (probably a mine/quarry), eastern North Carolina, USA
Date
Source Carcharodon megalodon (fossil shark teeth) (Miocene; Aurora, North Carolina, USA)
Author James St. John

Licensing[edit]

w:en:Creative Commons
attribution
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
  • attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/34806949391 (archive). It was reviewed on 4 November 2019 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

4 November 2019

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current14:51, 4 November 2019Thumbnail for version as of 14:51, 4 November 20192,071 × 2,880 (4.44 MB)Ainz Ooal Gown (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons

You cannot overwrite this file.

There are no pages that use this file.

Metadata

This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.

Retrieved from "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Carcharodon_megalodon_(fossil_shark_teeth)_(Miocene;_Aurora,_North_Carolina,_USA)_(34806949391).jpg&oldid=848324483"