X Close

UCL Culture Blog

Home

News and musings from the UCL Culture team

Menu

Specimen of the week 221: The mega-toothed shark tooth

By Will J Richard, on 4 January 2016

LDUCZ-V1301 fossil megalodon tooth

LDUCZ-V1301 fossil megalodon tooth

Hello and a Happy New Year to you Grant-fans. So, the first specimen of the week of 2016 falls to me, Will Richard. And I’ve chosen a monster to kick off the year: possibly the biggest ever fish with teeth to match. This one was found on the 2nd January 1880 (seasonal!) but people have been puzzling over these dental discards for generations. They were originally believed to be the dried tongues of dragons but actually I think the truth might be scarier…

(more…)