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10-year-old boy discovers rare megalodon tooth in Calvert County
In early March, a 10-year-old Maryland boy found a megalodon tooth, and now, he and his family are excited to share the details of this rare find. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal has the story.
CALVERT COUNTY, Md. - It's a discovery millions of years in the making: In early March, a 10-year-old Maryland boy found a megalodon tooth, and now, he and his family are excited to share the details of this rare find.
The backstory:
Roughly two weeks ago, 10-year-old Jaxon Hinton discovered a four-inch megalodon tooth at an undisclosed location along the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County.
Megalodons were the largest sharks that ever lived.
Hinton, along with dad Jason, have been searching for large megalodon teeth for years.
"I found a piece of vertebrae, this little piece of vertebrae right here, and my dad said, ‘That’s a good sign. Keep looking in that area.’ And then I kept looking, and I just saw the root of that," Hinton told FOX 5 Monday.
Dig deeper:
Stephen Godfrey, the curator of paleontology at the Calvert Marine Museum, said Hinton's find is "a gem quality specimen. It’s in mint condition."
Godfrey explained that megalodons have been extinct for millions of years. He estimated that Hinton's megalodon tooth is roughly 18 million years old.
Godfrey also said that while megalodon teeth are found fairly regularly in Maryland, they aren't typically as large or in as good of shape as Hinton's, making the find rare.
"It’s such an iconic shark," Godfrey added. "It’s the most amazing macropredator that I think ever lived."
What's next:
Hinton said he plans to keep finding fossils. His next target? A megalodon tooth measuring five inches long.