Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 9 year old discovered an extremely strange object on the beach. When her parents found out what it was, they were at a loss of words Molly Sampson, a nine-year-old 4th grader from Prince Frederick, Maryland, discovered the find of a lifetime while spending time at the Calvert Beach on Christmas morning. This paleontologist in the making enjoys combing Maryland’s beaches for shark teeth because as she says, “They’re just cool because they’re really old.” Sweet Molly inherited her fascination with fossils from her dad. “She loves treasure hunting,” Molly’s mom, Alicia Sampson, said of her daughter. Over the years, Molly has collected more than 400 fossilized shark teeth, but her recent find is so fascinating that the story of it vent viral in a matter of days. Namely, this fossil hunter found an enormous, 5-inch-long, chomper belonging to a megalodon, the largest shark to ever swim Earth’s oceans. The family took the enormous tooth to Stephen Godfrey, a curator of paleontogloy at Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, who confirmed that Molly’s once-in-a-lifetime find belonged to a megalodon. “Dr. Godfrey explained to Molly that the shark would’ve been the size of a Greyhound bus,” Alicia said. “Molly didn’t know what that was so she looked it up and could not believe it.” Speaking of the moment she spotted the tooth, Molly told NPR, “I went closer, and in my head, I was like, ‘Oh, my, that is the biggest tooth I’ve ever seen!'” She then added: “I reached in and grabbed it, and dad said I was shrieking.” According to Godfrey, the tooth Molly found came from the upper left jaw of a megalodon that was probably 45 to 50 feet long and lived about 15 million years ago. “It basically evolved those kinds of teeth so that it could cut out pieces, just like great white sharks do,” Godfrey says. “They sort of chomp the carcass of their prey” rather than swallowing it whole. The name “Megalodon” includes two Greek words that translate to “giant tooth,” and the one Molly found measures the size of her hand. As Molly’s story spread around, her family decided to use it as a way to remind young children like their daughter of the importance of spending more time out in the nature. “We really want to reach other kids and get them excited about like being outside,” Alicia said. 8 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 Great story!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 good on her - thats one she will remember rest of her life , i know that cause i found a bison tooth once - not a buffalo , its predecessor, not sure where it ended up ijust took it to the local college /later a university for identification and they retained it for further study 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted May 17 Author Share Posted May 17 (edited) Since she has a collection of shark teeth, I bet it becomes the top shelf item. Apparently one that size can have a four figure value, perhaps five if it is special. https://megateeth.com/product-category/megalodon-special-values/ on the other hand there are several on eBay that are not asking for much. Edited May 17 by Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 This Megalodon obviously knew nothing of proper dental hygiene. That is quite a find. I am glad it was a little kid that found it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 She does need to be careful that the teeth she collects are not still attached to the shark! Mortunatly, that big one isn't around either! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 Those used to be found a lot in the phosphate mining areas along with millions of smaller shark teeth. Coincidentally, Susan Backlinie who played the 1st shark victim (nude skinny dipper Chrissie) in the movie Jaws passed away recently. Jaws was the scariest movie I ever saw regardless of my age. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/susan-backlinie-dead-jaws-first-victim-1235896892/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 13 hours ago, Cypress Sun said: Those used to be found a lot in the phosphate mining areas along with millions of smaller shark teeth. Coincidentally, Susan Backlinie who played the 1st shark victim (nude skinny dipper Chrissie) in the movie Jaws passed away recently. Jaws was the scariest movie I ever saw regardless of my age. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/susan-backlinie-dead-jaws-first-victim-1235896892/ You must not have seen Silence of the Lambs............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 16 minutes ago, Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme said: You must not have seen Silence of the Lambs............ Lambs is a scary movie for sure, but getting eaten by humans didn't scare me as much as getting eaten by a shark. Plus, I saw Jaws on the big screen when it premiered AND I live in Florida where swimming, diving, skiing, fishing, etc., is a part of everyday life. When I was a kid, I was sort of side swiped by a shark. Never saw it but it left a kind of burn, like a carpet burn on my leg. That didn't bother of deter me from swimming in salt water...until I saw Jaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 28 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said: Lambs is a scary movie for sure, but getting eaten by humans didn't scare me as much as getting eaten by a shark. Plus, I saw Jaws on the big screen when it premiered AND I live in Florida where swimming, diving, skiing, fishing, etc., is a part of everyday life. When I was a kid, I was sort of side swiped by a shark. Never saw it but it left a kind of burn, like a carpet burn on my leg. That didn't bother of deter me from swimming in salt water...until I saw Jaws. Good point. Living near the beach would definitely have raised the fear factor of Jaws. We only got to the beach for vacations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 When I was a kid, during the summer, we would get on our bikes and ride down to the Bay. We never went to "the beach", because that was on the other side of the bridge and it was about 10 miles away. But we would go to the Bay and we would go swimming. I have not been in the Gulf in decades. Jaws may have had something to do with it. I don't know. It's not like I was suddenly afraid to go in the water. I just never wanted to go anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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