The colorations are rare, unique and beautiful while the root, blade and WHITE bourlette all have great preservation. Found scuba diving in Venice, Florida by Captain Michael Nastasio of Black Gold Fossil Charters. Megs of this color found off shore in Venice are called "Golden Beach" and are sought out by collectors because of the light, golden roots like this that can sometimes come from that area. If you're wondering why shark fossils, especially Megalodons, can have colors like this, keep in mind that each started as blank white as it fell out 2-23 million years ago. As fossils mineralize and fossilize, they absorb the surrounding minerals which can change the colors. The black fossilized shark fossils turn that color from saltwater, most of the time. This one was found very soon after it was first exposed from the layer before the saltwater had time to turn it black.
This adult shark would have been about 44 feet long because 1 inch of shark fossil is generally equal to 10 feet of shark. For comparison, the largest Great White Shark ever recorded was 21 feet long!
Check out more about how we dive, dig and sometimes risk our lives to find these amazing Megalodon shark fossils on social media here: YouTube/TikTok: @WildernessJeff, Instagram/Facebook: @SHRKco