Megalodon attack – roots of teeth which have been bitten in half.

Examining fossil Megalodon teeth shows common types of damage associated with predation. The photographs below show the roots of a series of teeth which have been bitten in half during feeding.

Megalodon teeth which have been ‘sheared’ in half are often attributed to a Megalodon biting its own lost tooth during a ‘feeding frenzy’, but cutting into a hard object which is not fixed or held in place is difficult to do.

A more likely scenario is a tooth becomes dislodged during the course of an attack and embedded in the prey animal’s bone or flesh. When the Megalodon is subsequently feeding on the prey animal, it bites through its own tooth, which is held in place by the bone or flesh of the prey animal.

As such, these teeth represent a classic example of predator/prey interaction. 

Note: Some of these resemble ‘impact fractures’ to the tips of Megalodon teeth and in many cases it is difficult to distinguish the cause of the damage (See post “Megalodon attack – impact fractures to the tip of the tooth“ elsewhere in this Blog).

Posted: 19 February 2014.