Pennsylvania family finds megalodon tooth on New Jersey beach
SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. —
A Pennsylvania family discovered a megalodon tooth while shelling on a beach in Sea Isle City, New Jersey.
Family makes surprising beach discovery
The Bowers family, from Washington County, noticed something unusual during their outing.
“As I pulled a shell out of the one rock, there was a hole in the rock,” Mike Bowers said. “I looked down and I was just astonished, but I couldn’t fit my hand in there. So of course I’m screaming like a crazy man over there for my son Bo to come running over because of his small hand. And what did you see?” he added, holding up the tooth.
Mike Bowers said the tooth belonged to a megalodon, a prehistoric predator that has been extinct for millions of years.
Fossil expert confirms rare find
The family said the find was later confirmed by a fossil expert who works with the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center.
“I was just really excited at first. I was scared to put my hand down to, like, see it,” said Bo Bowers, who plans to keep the tooth.
While megalodon teeth are not as rare as one might think—sharks can shed up to 40,000 teeth in a lifetime—large and intact specimens like the one the Bowers family found are very uncommon.
Such discoveries are typically made in coastal waters in the Southeast rather than the Northeast.
