Call it a truly toothsome treasure from the deep.
A Pennsylvania father and son vacationing at the Jersey Shore stumbled upon a remarkable fossil: a huge tooth believed to have come from a prehistoric megalodon, the colossal shark species often billed as the largest to ever roam the oceans and made famous in pop-culture thrillers.
Michael Bowers, 42, said the rare find happened last Tuesday while he was visiting Sea Isle City with his 11-year-old son, Bo. The fossil is believed to date back roughly 3.6 million years.
“I always seem like I find crazy stuff in the water,” Bowers told NJ.com. “I never in a million years would have guessed that we would have found something like this. My son was speechless.”
The Monongahela, Pennsylvania, pair were exploring near a jetty when they noticed the ancient shark tooth lodged inside a tight crevice.
Bowers said the opening was too narrow for his own hand, but Bo was able to reach in, get hold of the fossil and pull it free without much trouble.
“It’s on my bucket list of stuff to find,” Bowers told the outlet. “My knees were shaking.”
Afterward, the father and son took their Jersey Shore megalodon tooth discovery to the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center, where staff confirmed it was an authentic fossil.
The tooth belonged to a megalodon, a fearsome species of shark that grew up to 60 feet long — and has been extinct for over 3.6 million years, the center’s research director Melissa Laurino said.
Fossils of the prehistoric sea predator are rather rare in New Jersey, according to experts.
Fewer than five megalodon teeth have been found in the state, according to New Jersey State Museum curator Dana Ehert.
Researchers believe that the tooth was dredged up during a replenishment project carried out by the US Army Corps of Engineers in Sea Isle City in July.
“If the sand came from a few miles offshore, it is very possible the tooth came with it,” Laurino told NJ.com. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime beach find that the Bowers family will treasure for a lifetime.”
