Several million years old
6-year-old boy finds megalodon shark tooth on beach
Big Difference: A megalodon lim tooth compared to a great white shark tooth
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A little boy from England has made the find of his life: The six-year-old found the fossil remains of a megalodon tooth on a beach in the county of Suffolk. The predator was the largest shark that ever existed.
Sammy Shelton, from Bradwell, near Gorleston, England, was out on the beach at Bawdsey in Suffolk with his father Peter over the weekend when he made the exciting discovery. While searching for shells and shark teeth, the little boy found a tooth about four inches long – a fossil relic of the largest shark that ever existed.
Megalodon could grow up to 20 meters long
The now extinct shark could grow up to 20 meters long. It lived about 18 million years ago in the middle Miocene and disappeared again in the lower Pliocene about 5 million years ago.
As several British media reports, the area is very popular with fossil hunters. One was very impressed by the find. “I knew what it was, but it wasn’t until I showed it to the other beachgoers that I realized what it meant,” Peter Shelton told Metro. “There was a man who had been looking for a megalodon tooth all his life and never found anything of this size.”
According to the Great Yarmouth Mercury news portal, evolutionary biologist Ben Garrod reviewed images of the tooth and said it was one of only a handful of teeth found in Britain each year. He said the “unique” find was “a really beautiful discovery,” adding that the enamel and root are still visible. “It’s a really unusual find and they’re usually much more eroded than this specimen. For a British specimen it’s a really nice find.”
According to his father, the son took the shark tooth to school to show it to his classmates and teachers. “Right now he keeps it next to his bed,” Shelton says, adding, “Sammy is now dying to go back to the beach to dig up more potential fossils.”
Watch the video: Addison did not expect such a catch. On a fishing trip he suddenly has a huge shark on his line. After 45 minutes of fighting, the 15-year-old manages to pull the almost three-meter-long shark to the side of the boat. Then he releases the sea predator back to freedom.
Sources:“Great Yarmouth Mercury”, “Metro”, Shark Foundation