60 pieces · NaturePhoto by Mick Kirchman on Unsplash, free to use under the Unsplash License
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Family Finds Rare Megalodon Tooth on New Jersey Beach
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Family Finds Rare Megalodon Tooth on New Jersey Beach
A family beach outing on the New Jersey shore turned into a genuine piece of prehistoric history this week when a large, intact fossilized megalodon tooth turned up half-buried in the sand. Finds like this circulate fast precisely because they're the kind of thing anyone could stumble across on an ordinary walk — no special equipment, no expedition, just the right stretch of shoreline and a sharp eye.
Megalodon was the largest shark species known to have existed, roughly three times the length of a modern great white, and it went extinct an estimated 3.6 million years ago. Its teeth are found far more often than any other part of its skeleton, since sharks shed and regrow teeth constantly through life — a megalodon could go through tens of thousands of teeth in a lifetime — and enamel fossilizes far better than the cartilage that made up the rest of its body.
Certain coastlines with exposed Miocene-era sediment are known fossil-hunting spots for exactly this reason, and a good storm or unusually low tide is often enough to reveal something that's been sitting under the sand for millions of years.
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Frequently asked questions
- What is a megalodon?
- The largest shark species known to science, estimated at up to 50-60 feet long, that went extinct roughly 3.6 million years ago.
- Why do megalodon teeth wash up on beaches?
- Sharks continuously shed and regrow teeth throughout their lives, and fossilized teeth get exposed and washed loose from ancient sediment layers by tides, currents, and storms.
- How old are megalodon tooth fossils usually?
- Most documented finds date to roughly 3.6 to 15+ million years old, depending on the geological layer they eroded out of.
- Where are the best places to find shark tooth fossils?
- Coastlines with exposed Miocene-era sediment — including well-known stretches of the U.S. East Coast — are the most productive and well-documented spots for these finds.