12-Year-Old Girl Finds 20-Million-Year-Old Megalodon Tooth While Hunting for Shark Teeth in England

A 12-year-old girl was hunting for shark teeth and got the biggest surprise when she found a tooth large enough to fill her hand. The tooth was from the biggest shark that once dominated the ocean - the megalodon.

Megalodon Tooth Found in England

Cydney Root, 12, searched for fossils on the beach in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex. She found a huge shark tooth, and her aunt, Sophie Freestone, immediately recognized that it was from a megalodon - the biggest shark that dominated the prehistoric oceans, according to the Natural History Museum.

Sophie's family enjoys hunting for shark teeth. It has been a pastime for their family. They had jars of collection at home. Last Thursday, she was joined by her nieces Florence Murphy and Cydney. The rare find was the first in their family.

Sophie said they descended the following day to find it just before the cliff. The meg tooth was sitting on the surface after a significant cliff fall the day before, Daily Mail reported.

Cydney discovered the tooth and glanced down before picking it up and showing it to her aunt. Cydney reportedly asked Sophie what it was, and the latter immediately recognized it and told the youngster it was a "meg tooth!"

The enormity of the megalodon was evident when they took home the tooth and compared it to the others in their collection. The species could reach lengths of up to 18 meters, and its jaws, lined with 276 of these teeth, were large enough to devour two adult humans simultaneously.

The size and might of the extinct predator inspire Hollywood. It even featured the monstrous sea creature in the 2018 film "The Meg" and will be featured again in its impending sequel.

According to Sophie, megalodons were larger than whales, and she believed they consumed whales and great white sharks. The discovery of the megalodon tooth in the area only proved megs were swimming there before, Sophie said.

Sophie said since it was the first find for their family, they experienced mixed emotions - amazement, happiness, and excitement. She was happy she was with her niece when Cydney discovered it and admitted that she was a little envious that the youngster had found it before her. The gigantic shark tooth will soon be framed and displayed on Cydney's wall.

ALSO READ: Terrifying Megalodon Had a Massive Penis About The Size of a Great White Shark, Expert Says

Other Megalodon Tooth Findings

A number of megalodon teeth have been found in the past months. In December, a 9-year-old girl, Molly Sampson, also found one on Christmas morning.

Their family was searching for shark teeth in Calvert Beach, Marland, when she waded into the knee-deep water and pulled a 5-inch long megalodon tooth.

Molly's mom, Alicia Sampson, said her daughter was overjoyed with the rare find because she had always dreamed about finding one. According to Alicia, Molly has been shark tooth hunting since she was 1.

A fossil hunter from British Columbia, Canada, also discovered one. Rachel Shill Cook and her step-daughter Addison Shill were hiking along West Prince George's Nechako River when she noticed something in the damp ground. She thought it was an agate, but a third of it was still uncovered. She dug it and saw the whole tooth about the size of a half-palm.