TWO young fossil hunters have found a rare tooth belonging to a prehistoric giant Megalodon shark.

The extinct ocean giant’s enormous tooth was taken into Essex Wildlife Trust’s Naze Centre at Walton to identify what species it belonged to.

Grandad Peter Stewart visited the Naze with grandchildren Adam and Sophie Pollard.

“We went to the Naze to look for sharks’ teeth,” he said.

“I had been there looking many years ago with my godfather Brian Benham, who has now sadly passed way, but this was Adam’s first time.

“After searching for only a few minutes, we found one belonging to a 50 million year Megladon shark, the biggest fish that ever lived.

“The find was confirmed as rare by staff at the visitor centre.”

Gazette:

  • Adam with the fossil

Essex Wildlife Trust’s said the fossilised tooth, which is 3ins wide and 3ins high, belonged to the extinct 18-metre mega-shark Megalodon, which would have been around three times larger than the modern day Great White shark. It had the biggest bite of any creature known to date and would have consumed on average 2,500 lbs of food per day.

Maximiliano Nicolic, assistant manager at The Naze Centre, said it is not the first time Megalodon teeth have been uncovered from the 70ft Naze cliffs.

He added: “We run many fossil hunting events here at The Naze Centre, but finding a Megalodon tooth is a rare treat.

“We’ve had some incredible teeth found this summer but this has to be the best find so far”

The trust is celebrating Marine Month and youngsters are invited to go shark crazy with activity filled sessions all about sharks, including a shark trail, shark themed games and a hunt for teeth on the beach from Monday.

There will also be a Marine Wildlife Celebration Day with a seashore scavenger hunt on August 24, from 10am to 4pm, and a family seashore discovery session on August 22 and 27 August.