I was initially a bit disappointed by Megalodon, the quality of the writing, photography, and illustrations in the early chapters of the book is variable. Some photographs are sharp and clear, others are grainy and highly pixilated. Generally, the photographs of shark teeth and other fossils are of great quality. The writing sometimes tends to wander off the topic, and is not always clear. I was willing to forgive these problems, however, when I reached Chapters 7 through 10.
In Chapter 7 "Hunting the Hunter," Renz provides photographs of teeth and vertebrae of Megalodon and some Megalodon ancestors which have been found in different locales world-wide. The information that Renz provides for the African, Asian, Australian, and South American sites is sketchy at best, in many cases it only includes a photograph with a caption. Renz provides more information for sites in the Netherlands and Belgium, but the information that he provides for other European locales is also sparse. The section on North American sites, especially Florida, is where Renz's knowledge shines. He provides information about many North American sites, although the information on finding some of the sites in more detailed than for other sites.
Chapter 8 "A Dentist's Nightmare," is also very helpful, with photographs and information on how to recognize Megalodon teeth from other species of sharks, and how to recognize the position of the tooth in Megalodon's mouth. I found this to be the best and most informative chapter in Megalodon. Renz briefly discusses how Megalodon teeth were formed beginning as an enamel shell, replacement of shark teeth, cutting and biting power, and some other tidbits of Megalodon information.
Chapter 9 "Beauty and the Beasts," is mostly photographs of shark teeth, "While this chapter can be used as an identfication guide, its purpose is also to show the beauty in prehistoric shark teeth," writes Renz. These colour photographs are indeed beautiful, and I was willing to forgive the poor quality of some of the photographs in earlier chapters. In addition to teeth from adult Megalodons, this chapter has sections of photographs of juvenile Megalodon teeth and some information on where to find juvenile teeth, Megalodon ancestors, Megalodon's neighbours (sharks whose teeth are found in the same areas as Megalodon), and non-shark marine fossils that the fossil hunter might find while searching for Megalodon teeth.
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