Every tooth is a fossil from a legal source
Here is where our teeth come from, what we refuse to sell, and how we check each one before it goes in the locker.
Where they come from
Florida Venice area
Venice is known as the shark tooth capital of the world for a reason. Teeth wash up on its beaches and turn up in sand from private land, and we buy from people who have permission to be there.
Morocco Khouribga
The phosphate mines near Khouribga hold teeth from about 55 million years ago, including Otodus. These come with export paperwork, and the mining is done under local rules.
The Carolinas Rivers
North and South Carolina rivers give up dark, well-preserved megalodon teeth. We work with licensed collectors who dive and wade these rivers under state rules.
What we never sell
- Ivory. Trade in ivory is restricted in many places and it is tied to animals that are still threatened.
- Marine mammal fossils. Whale and dolphin material has its own rules, so we stay out of it.
- Modern teeth from protected sharks. Many living sharks are protected, and buying their teeth can encourage harm to the animal. A fossil is thousands or millions of years old and cannot hurt anything.
The short version is that we sell fossils, and only fossils.
How we check each tooth
- MatrixReal fossils often carry bits of the rock or sediment they were found in. We look for matrix that sits naturally in the cracks and pits.
- RepairsWe look closely at the root and the blade for old breaks, filler and rebuilt sections.
- UV lightUnder ultraviolet light, many modern glues and fillers glow differently from fossil material. It is a quick way to spot a repair that is hard to see by eye.
- WeightFossil teeth are mineralized and feel heavy for their size. A tooth that feels light or plasticky gets set aside.
What "repaired" and "restored" mean
Repaired means a broken tooth was glued back together using its own pieces. Restored means missing parts were filled in or rebuilt with another material, such as part of a root or a chipped edge.
Both are common in the fossil world, and a good repair does not make a tooth worthless. It does change the price, so we never hide it. Every repaired or restored tooth is labeled on the listing and on its tag, and we say what was done and where.
Certificate of authenticity
Every megalodon tooth ships with one. Here is an example with sample data.
The Tooth Locker
- Specimen
- Megalodon tooth (Otodus megalodon)
- Size
- 4.1 in
- Origin
- Carolina river
- Age
- Miocene to Pliocene, 3.6 to 23 million years
- Grade
- A
- Repairs
- None
- Certificate no.
- Example TL-0412