Maryland designates megalodon the official state shark

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Carcharocles megalodon (Credit: Calvert Marine Museum)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland officially named the megalodon the state shark this week, becoming the first state in the country with the designation.

Megalodon becomes Maryland's state shark

What we know:

The Maryland state legislature voted to approve the selection on Monday, with Gov. Wes Moore later signing the bill.

Delegate Todd Morgan wrote one of two bills backing the selection. He celebrated its passage in a Facebook post on Monday night.

"There are so many people, young and old, who have worked beside us to make this possible," Morgan wrote. "It’s been so much work people don’t see. But, to the hundreds of kids, literally, who have written letters and drawn pictures, this has been one of the enjoyable bills that legislators actually had some fun with."

Megalodon's Maryland history

The backstory:

Carcharocles megalodon stalked the planet's oceans between 25 and 2.5 million years ago, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. It's considered the largest shark, and largest fish, to ever exist.

The megalodon is most commonly known for its enormous fossilized teeth, which have been found on nearly every continent, including here in Maryland. Megalodon teeth have been found in at least seven Maryland counties, and, according to the Calvert Marine Museum, called the state home for 10 million years.

Enya Kim from the Natural History department at auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields stands inside one of the world's largest set of shark jaws comprised of about 180 fossil teeth from the prehistoric species, Carcharocles megalodon.(Photo by Ethan

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What they're saying:

Advocates for the megalodon bill say that the selection 

"Megalodon reminds us of our rich fossil history," Dr. Stephen Godfrey, the museum's Curator of Paleontology, wrote in support of the bill.

"By choosing megalodon as our State Shark, should help bring attention to all sharks, both living and extinct that call or have called Maryland home," Godfrey wrote.

Maryland state symbols

Minnesota, Baltimore Oriole. (Photo by: Bernard P. Friel/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Dig deeper:

With the designation, the megalodon joins several other official state animals, including the famous state bird, the Baltimore Oriole, the state crustacean, the Maryland Blue Crab, the state dinosaur, Astrodon johnstoni, and more.

What's next:

The law will make the selection official on Oct. 1, 2026.