Special to the Herald

Savannah – Prehistoric sharks will be at the forefront this summer, as Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” is celebrated July 7-13. Families can experience ‘Shark Week’ with the added thrill of prehistoric shark teeth fossils thanks to Bill Eberlein, the founder of MegaTeeth Fossils.

With more than 25 years of diving experience, Eberlein dives day-in and day-out in the waters of Coastal Georgia in search of Megalodon shark teeth, the dinosaurs of the seas, and shares his vast collection of fossils with those wanting to take a bite out of Shark Week.

“It is one thing to learn about sharks and the ocean through television, but it is completely different getting to hold an actual fossil in your hands,” Eberlein said. “It’s an awesome feeling to discover these unique pieces of aquatic history and share them with the world.” 

The excitement generated each year by the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” prompts masses of people to learn more about the aquatic creatures and explore all things shark related. For Eberlein, Shark Week is a great way of connecting his career and passion with those who want to learn more about the mysteries of the ocean.

Eberlein spent many years taking leisure dives at shipwreck sites, but wasn’t introduced to fossil diving until he moved to Savannah in the late 1990s. He took a diving trip with friends from work just for fun with no expectations off the coast of Hilton Head Island and was instantly hooked on fossil diving with his first Megalodon tooth find surprising himself and his friends.

As his personal fossil collection grew, he decided it was time to part ways with some of his precious pieces and in 2000, he started MegaTeeth fossils.  Eight years later he decided to “take the plunge” to dive and sell his fossils full-time, leaving his day jobs at Gulfstream and teaching at Savannah Technical College. What was once a dream had come to fruition before his very eyes – a business built around his treasure hunting SCUBA diving passion.

“Building a business where I get to do something I love every day has been such a great adventure. I get to go diving once or twice a day, and then I get to share my discoveries with so many people,” Eberlein said. “It’s so exciting to see customers purchase the Megalodon fossils and hold a piece of history in their hands.”

Megalodons were enormous sea creatures, members of the now-extinct family of sharks, the Megashark.

The name Megalodon translates in Greek to “big tooth,” which is no exaggeration. Evidence proves these ancient sharks could measure 60 feet in length, which is the standard length of an entire bowling lane. A single tooth from this shark is generally three to four inches but the rarest examples can measure as much as seven inches long and may weigh as much as a pound. The force of the teeth adds up, given that Megalodons had 276 teeth! The bite force of a Megalodon equates to about an impressive 40,000 pounds per square inch, which is greater than the bite force of a T-rex dinosaur.

Today, only the fossils remain to carry on the daunting legacy of the Megalodon, who roved the deepest parts of the oceans any time between two- and 20 million years ago.

Eberlein’s Megalodon teeth and other fossils, exhibited on his on his website at https://megateeth.com/, are available for purchase. Each item is from Eberlein’s personal collection. More than 200 fossils on the website are individually curated for authenticity and fossil identification by Bill and Dodie Gay, his wife and business partner of over a decade, and includes additional information and articles about Eberlein’s hunting obsession beyond movies and Shark Week.