A 13-year-old boy has discovered a shark tooth belonging to an enormous prehistoric creature on the Essex coast.
Ben found the 10cm-long (4in) tooth at Walton-on-the-Naze throughout a summer time vacation weekend break.
{The teenager}’s dad, Jason, stated his son was “over the moon” with the discover, including that he knew the second he noticed it “it was one thing”.
Essex Wildlife Belief confirmed it was a megalodon tooth – and intact ones, just like the one discovered – have been a “uncommon discover”.
Jason and his son have been on a weekend break from their dwelling in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire particularly to search around for fossils.
They arrived on Friday night and by Sunday morning had already clocked up 16 miles (26km) of strolling alongside the coast.
They have been up on the morning time on Sunday and have been down on the seaside very first thing when Ben discovered the enormous tooth underneath rocks at about 07:00 BST.
Jason, 50, stated: “We might simply see the sting of it, protruding, and Ben knew straightaway it was one thing and pulled it out of the sand.”
The pair took their discover to Essex Wildlife Belief’s Discovery Centre at Walton-on-the-Naze the place they have been advised it was a megalodon tooth.
Jason stated he and his son go to Walton-on-the-Naze to go fossil searching annually and likewise to the Jurassic Coast, a 95-mile (153km) lengthy stretch of shoreline in southern England.
He stated Ben needs to be a palaeontologist when he’s older and the enormous tooth was a “welcome boost” to his assortment.
Essex Wildlife Belief stated the tooth can be from 20 million years previous to three.6 million.
It stated a number of had been discovered at The Naze however extra generally they have been fragments of the tooth.
The megalodon
The cartilaginous fish (whose skeleton is manufactured from cartilage slightly than bone) was a carnivore and had no recognized predators
-
It might eat something it appreciated, however its favorite meals was whales, though seals would even have been on the menu
-
Most of this shark’s searching was within the open sea (juveniles lived nearer to shore) and it attacked its prey close to the floor, when it got here up for air
-
Megalodon might swim at excessive pace in brief bursts so tended to hurry its prey from beneath
-
It could first intention to disable its prey by injuring a flipper or the tail, then as soon as unable to swim correctly, the sufferer can be simpler to complete off
-
Lived from about 20 million years in the past, lengthy after the dinosaurs turned extinct 65 million years in the past
Supply: BBC Science
Discover BBC Information: East of England on Fb and Instagram. When you’ve got a narrative suggestion e-mail [email protected] or get in contact through WhatsApp on 0800 169 1830
