Sharks Teeth Collection with Postcard in Thin Glass-Top Box. The postcard has a blue background and displays examples of the most commonly found sharks teeth, as well as a complete jaw, and the collection that surrounds it somewhat mirrors this, with the pieces resting on cotton backing to prevent them from sliding around inside the glass-top box. 

Box Size: 8 1/4 x 12 1/4 x 1 1/8 in. 

The oldest known records of fossilized shark teeth are by Pliny the Elder, who believed that these triangular objects fell from the sky during lunar eclipses. Shark teeth are continuously shed and replaced in rows like a conveyor belt, with the replacement’s shape and size depending on the shark’s sex, species, and diet, such as sharp, needle-like teeth for gripping fish or serrated, triangular teeth for cutting larger prey. Some Carcharhiniformes shed approximately 35,000 teeth in a lifetime. When a shark dies its cartilaginous skeleton decomposes, but the hard teeth remain and can become fossilized in sediment, preserving them in various colors from absorbed minerals. These fossils can be analyzed for information on shark evolution and biology, extending back hundreds of millions of years to the Late Ordovician period, with the most commonly found fossil shark teeth coming from the Cenozoic Era (the last 66 million years). Otodus Megalodon was the largest shark in history, living during the late Oligocene epoch and Neogene period (about 28 to 1.5 million years ago), and grew to a maximum length of 60 feet, making it the biggest and most fearsome predator to ever swim the seas. The largest teeth are in excess of 7 inches and are extremely rare, making them highly demanded by collectors and private investors, fetching thousands of dollars in private sales and auctions alone.

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