Acci-dental discovery: Siblings stumble upon tooth of giant Megalodon shark

By Sophie Finnegan via SWNS

Two young fossil hunters discovered a rare tooth that belonged to a prehistoric giant Megalodon shark.

Siblings Adam and Sophie Pollard were walking along a beach in August when they stumbled across the gigantic fossilised tooth.

And after taking it into Essex Wildlife Trust’s Naze Centre in the United Kingdom, the children were amazed to discover it belonged to the long-extinct, 18-meter Megalodon shark.

Adam, 9, and Sophie, 5, had visited the beach in Walton-on-the-Naze with their grandad Peter Stewart, 66, from Colchester, Essex.

Peter said: “We went to the Naze to look for sharks’ teeth.

“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."

Scientists predict the Megalodon would have been around three times larger than the modern-day Great White shark and had the biggest bite of any creature known to date.

On average, it would have consumed 2,500 pounds of food per day and its name justifiably translates to “Big Tooth."

Maximiliano Nicolic, assistant manager at The Naze Centre, said it's not the first time Megalodon teeth have been uncovered from the 70ft high 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”