Molly Sampson, a nine-year-old fourth-grade student from Prince Frederick, Maryland, made a life-changing discovery on Christmas morning while spending time at Calvert Beach. This budding paleontologist loves searching Maryland beaches for shark teeth because, she says, “They’re just cool because they’re really old.” Enthusiastic Molly inherited her passion for fossils from her father. “She loves treasure hunting,” Molly’s mother, Alicia Sampson, said of her daughter.
Over the years, Molly has collected more than 400 fossilized shark teeth, but her latest discovery is so fascinating that her story went viral in a matter of days. Namely, this fossil collector found a massive 5-inch-long rodent tooth that belonged to a megalodon, the largest shark to ever swim in Earth’s oceans. The family took the giant tooth to Stephen Godfrey, curator of paleontology at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomon, who confirmed that Molly’s unique discovery belonged to a megalodon.
“Dr. Godfrey told Molly the shark was the size of a Greyhound bus,” Alicia said. “Molly didn’t know what it was, so she looked and couldn’t believe it.” Of the moment she discovered the tooth, Molly told NPR, “I went over and in my head I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s the biggest tooth I’ve ever seen!'” She then added, “I grabbed it, and my dad said I screamed.” According to Godfrey, the tooth Molly found came from the upper left jaw of a megalodon that was likely 45 to 50 feet long and lived about 15 million years ago.
“It evolved these types of teeth essentially to cut up pieces, just like the great white shark does,” Godfrey explains. “They sort of chew on the carcass of their prey” rather than swallowing it whole. The name “Megalodon” comes from two Greek words meaning “giant tooth,” and the one Molly found is the size of her hand. As Molly’s story spread, her family decided to use it to remind young children like their daughter of the importance of spending more time in nature. “We really want to reach out to other kids and get them excited about being outside,” Alicia said.
