Reference

Fossil Glossary

The words collectors, hunters, and dealers actually use — grading, restoration, formations, and species — defined in plain English so you can buy and hunt with confidence.

Blade: The crown of a shark tooth — the triangular cutting portion above the root, carrying the cutting edges and any serrations. Blade symmetry, the tip, and enamel quality drive a tooth's display appeal.
Bourrelet: The chevron-shaped band on the lingual (tongue-facing) side of a megatooth tooth, where the crown meets the root. A crisp bourrelet is a positive authenticity sign on Megalodon and its Otodus kin — but it is thin and often worn away.
Certificate of Authenticity: A written record affirming a fossil's identity, provenance, condition, and any restoration. A good COA is specific and hard to forge; it is your permanent proof and a key to resale.
Composite: A specimen built from parts of more than one fossil, or partly sculpted, then presented as a single piece. Composites must always be disclosed; an undisclosed one is misrepresentation.
Cusplet: A small, pointed projection flanking the main crown on some shark teeth. Prominent in early Otodus species and lost over time, cusplets help date a tooth and place it in the megatooth lineage.
Dentine: The mineralized tissue beneath a tooth's enameloid that forms the bulk of the crown and most of the root. The dark bourrelet band is exposed dentine.
Enameloid: The hard, glossy, highly mineralized outer cap of a shark tooth — analogous to mammalian enamel but structurally distinct. It gives the blade its sheen and durability.
Formation: A distinct, mappable body of rock laid down in a particular interval, used to organize the fossil record. South Carolina names like the Ashley and Chandler Bridge formations place a fossil in time.
Geologic Age: A specimen's place in deep time, named on the geologic time scale (eon, era, period, epoch, age). For Lowcountry shark teeth this usually means the Oligocene or Miocene, tens of millions of years ago.
Lowcountry: South Carolina's low-lying coastal plain below the Fall Line — Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley, Beaufort and neighboring counties. Its Oligocene and Miocene deposits make it a premier fossil region.
Matrix: The surrounding rock or sediment in which a fossil is embedded. It is removed during preparation, though some specimens are intentionally displayed still set in their matrix.
Megafauna: Large-bodied animals such as the Columbian mammoth, mastodon and giant ground sloth. Many of the Pleistocene's megafauna went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age.
Megalodon: The largest predatory shark known, extinct around 3.6 million years ago, whose massive serrated teeth are the most sought-after fossil shark teeth. Identified by size, fine serrations, the bourrelet neck, and no cusplets.
Megatooth shark: The extinct family Otodontidae — the giant, serrated megatooth sharks of the genus Otodus whose lineage culminated in megalodon.
Oligocene: The Oligocene Epoch (about 33.9 to 23 million years ago). South Carolina's Cooper Group — the Ashley and Chandler Bridge Formations — dates here, rich in whales and Otodus angustidens teeth.
Otodus: The genus of extinct "megatooth" sharks whose lineage includes Megalodon. Following Otodus from obliquus through angustidens and chubutensis shows cusplets shrinking and teeth enlarging over time.
Pathological: A fossil tooth that grew abnormally — bent, split-tipped, or otherwise deformed — from injury, disease, or a developmental glitch. Often prized for its rarity and the life story it records.
Patina: The mineral coloration and surface character a fossil takes on during burial. Iron, manganese, and phosphate produce distinctive hues; natural, embedded patina is one sign a fossil is genuine.
Pleistocene: The Pleistocene Epoch (about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) — the last Ice Age, when Columbian mammoths and other megafauna roamed what is now South Carolina.
Provenance: The documented origin and history of a fossil — where and how it was found, and the chain of custody since. Good provenance adds scientific value, supports legality, and underpins trust.
Restoration: Any modern intervention on a fossil, from gluing a break to rebuilding missing material. Honest sellers distinguish repaired, restored, and composite specimens — each affects value differently.
Root: The thick, often U- or V-shaped base of a shark tooth that anchored it in the jaw. It is porous, takes mineral color readily, and its condition strongly affects a fossil tooth's grade and value.
Serrations: The small, saw-like teeth along a shark tooth's cutting edges. Coarse, fine, or absent depending on species, serrations help identify a tooth and signal how well its edges have survived.
Slant Height: The standard way collectors and paleontologists measure a shark tooth: a straight line from the tip of the crown to the lowest point of the longest root lobe. It captures display size more fairly than width or vertical height.