Megalodon... also, name change!

Yeah, things got a bit confusing and I decided to rename the blog. Well, technically its not renaming it, its just reshuffling the url of my old blog 'Halcyon Days Jewellery' and this one. 'Compendium of dreams' was really a rushed, last minute name choice and I couldnt think of anything else at the time. When I found out you could, in fact, change it, I decided it would be good in the long run if I did so.

Sorry for any confusion! This makes it a lot easier for business cards/in-progress-etsy-account if the name of my 'website' matches the name of my business!

To confirm, the old blog (which was really just an extension of my dA account) is now called Compendium of Dreams and this blog is now Halcyon Days. Again, I'm sorry...

On to the main reason for this post...

As you are no doubt aware, I went swimming with sharks recently as a birthday present. So this blog is about one of my favourite prehistoric creatures: Megalodon, the biggest shark to have ever lived.

Perhaps the most interesting (and scary) fact about Megalodon is its sheer size. To put it in perspective, this is a Megalodon tooth and two Great White Shark teeth(the largest predatory fish currently alive):

An early jaw reconstruction:

Aaaaaaannd heres the scale vs a Great White and a human:

This was one BIG fish. Not the biggest fish ever (Leedsichthys, I think, is the current title holder), but definitely the biggest predatory fish. This shark was so large it ate whales, which we can figure out from serration marks on the teeth and in fossilised whale bones.

Don't worry, it is EXTINCT. No one really knows why it went extinct, but current theories suggest the changing water temperature is to blame. Like many other creatures like it (Loch Ness Monster plesiosaur anyone?), there are cryptozoological theories that these sharks have survived in deep sea trenches. It is true that we have not explored all of the ocean depths, but all the Megalodon teeth that are found are ancient, not recently shed as they would be if it was still alive (and sharks shed a lot of teeth). Despite the claims, no proof has yet been found.

And I really should point out, there are no sharks alive today anywhere near its size, and Jaws is all unrealistic scaremongering. You dont get Great Whites that size, and as I've just said, Megalodon is extinct. Sharks are beautiful creatures and deserve our respect. Even Great Whites, which admittedly are very scary creatures, command such power and agility in their hunting style that we should certainly admire them for it. All ecosystems need an apex predator, after all, and lightning strikes kill more people than sharks do. All that rubbish about them being bloodthirsty killers is not true at all.

Like all sharks, Megalodon was cartilaginous, which means instead of bones it had cartilage (the same stuff in your ear lobes). This also means that the only bits to be found fossilised are the teeth, and theres a lot of them about. A sort of average size is 7 inches, although they have been found bigger. Sharks go through several sets of teeth during their life, and are constantly growing new ones in rows to replace those lost.

Whilst in Edinburgh I decided to treat myself to a tooth, because its something I've always wanted.

My tooth is polished, which gives it a lovely, beautiful shine. It's almost complete, with only a small bit of the root missing, and the edge is still sharp and serrated. Its not especially large, as Megalodon teeth go (still as big as my hand!), but the larger ones were verging on £200 which was too expensive for me.

But I like the one I've got! It looks nice in the cabinet next to my Yellow River fishie, ostrich egg and trilobite. I'm building up a nice little collection here!

What do you guys collect? Anything special/expensive?

Oh and expect a jewellery update pretty soon :D

Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return...

Becky xx