Shocking prehistoric discovery on NJ beach ‘100%’came from colossal ancient predator

A family’s search for seashells on the Jersey Shore took an unexpected turn when a father and son uncovered the tooth of anancient shark— and it dates back millions of years.

Mike Bowers and his son, Bo Bowers, uncovered the fossil, which came from an Otodus megalodon, inSea Isle Citynear the Townsend Inlet on August 11. 

Megalodons were the largest predatory sharks in Earth’s history, and went extinct around 4 million years ago.

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Pictures of the tooth show its massive size and dark, jagged edge, with the fossil measuring roughly the length of young Bo Bowers’ hand.

The Pennsylvania family had been

A Pennsylvania family’s search for seashells on the Jersey Shore led to the discovery of a megalodon tooth.Mike Bowers and his son Bo Bowers are pictured at right.(DeAgostini/Getty Images;Casey Bowers)

“There was a rock jetty and a real nice looking beach,” said Mike Bowers.“And I was like, well, let’s go check it out.”

The father noticed something in a small opening between two rocks, but his hand was too large to fit, so he called his son over.

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The 11-year-old said it was “really hard to believe” when he learned the tooth wasmillions of years old.

“He likes to look for shark teeth and stuff like that,” Mike Bowers added.

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Mike Bowers, at right, and his 11-year-old son, Bo, discovered an ancient shark tooth in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, during a family trip. (Casey Bowers)

The family “definitely did not expect to find something of that stature,” he added. 

The Bowers family was allowed to keep the tooth because it was found on aOn their way home to western Pennsylvania, the family stopped at the New Jersey State Museum to have the tooth examined.

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“[An official] took us up to the fossil lab, and he examined it and confirmed it,” he said.“[It] 100% is a true megalodon tooth.”

The fossil measured roughly the length of the boy’s hand — and dates back millions of years.(Casey Bowers)

Mike Bowers added that an official told him only five megalodon teeth had previously been recorded as found on New Jersey beaches, and that the family’s discovery was the sixth.

Dana Ehret of theNew Jersey State Museumconfirmed the tooth�

“These teeth are highly uncommon in New Jersey because we do not have the right aged sediments preserved at or near the surface,” said Ehret.

“The Bowers tooth is in extraordinary good condition for a tooth from New Jersey.It reminds me of the teeth found in North Carolina, where they are much more common,” he added. 

Bo Bowers, seen here with his father, said it was “really hard to believe” when he learned the tooth was millions of years old.(Casey Bowers)

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“Typically, teeth [found in New Jersey] are substantially worn from being in the water for long periods of time.”

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The discovery is one of several ancient finds made by children in unexpected places in recent months.

Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy in England discovered a roughly1.8 million-year-old toothfrom an extinct relative of modern elephants while visiting a beach.

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In another unusual find, an 8-year-old boy in Israel found a1,700-year-old Roman statuette fragmentand brought it to school for show-and-tell.