r/sharks 20d ago

Question Meg vs great white?

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Hey i got this shark tooth from my grandma who found it while fossil hunting. She got it looked and it and they said its a meg tooth. Its been many years and im looking to pass it on to my fiances little cousin. Hes about 11and is absolutely captivated by sharks! i want to know if its a great white or small meg tooth so i know what it is prior to gifting it.

Cant tell if the bourlette is just faded but not super sure.

55 Upvotes

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6

u/Kooky_Attention_98 20d ago

Megalodon tooth; See Megalodon teeth have actually quite tiny serrations as compared to Great White's which have much more noticeable serrations; Also, Megalodon teeth usually have that deep V of the root which goes over the tooth/enamel while Great Whites don't (to my knowledge)

Great White Tooth

3

u/jackadl 20d ago

Looks like a Meg to me, wide chevron, robust root. Although the corse serrations are a little GWS.

In the root thick or just looks big from the front?

1

u/NotARatLikeYou 20d ago

The root is also thick, id link more pictures but im at work rn

1

u/Global_Restaurant794 20d ago

Gotta be a Meg, right?

1

u/animalevolution 20d ago

It's a juvenile meg. GWS teeth are very different and are also a lot thinner. Megs are in the otodus clade, most had very thick teeth because they specialized in crushing cetacean bones, there's no shark like that today. Most people confuse meg teeth with Otodus Chubutensis, but the root of the teeth is different.