A megalodon shark tooth is something paleontology enthusiasts can search for their entire lives and still fail to find. But one 9-year-old girl from Maryland can already cross off that feat from her list.
Back in Christmas, fourth-grader Molly Sampson was fossil hunting with her family at Calvert Beach when she noticed something unusual in the water. She reached for it and found herself holding a shark tooth that was quite different compared to those she had previously seen; this tooth couldn’t even fit on her palm.
Molly rushed to show the discovery to her father, who immediately knew it was a special find. A few days later, they went to visit experts at Calvert Marine Museum and got a confirmation; the shark tooth that Molly found belonged to Megalodon, the biggest sea creature that ever lived.
“I was so surprised,” Molly told USA TODAY in a recent chat. “I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t think it was real.”
It turns out that fossil hunting isn’t new for Molly. She has been doing it since she could walk, following her father on his fossil-hunting adventures. The young girl currently has a collection of more than 400 shark teeth, but the latest addition is certainly her favorite one.
