South Carolina fossil hunter finds massive megalodon shark tooth

CHARLESTON, S.C. — It was a dream come true for a South Carolina fossil hunter when he found a massive megalodon tooth in Charleston, WCIV reported.

Matthew Basak, who guides fossil hunts professionally, said he was fossil hunting at a construction site when he found the ancient shark tooth.

Basak noticed what looked like a promising soil layer exposed in a drainage ditch, and hopped down to take a closer look. That’s when he began probing and found a nice-sized tooth before something else grabbed his attention.

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A few inches below the first tooth Basak found was another belonging to an a enormous megalodon. According to Basak, the tooth measured at 6.45 inches, and weighed around 3 pounds.

He said his friends, who are also experienced fossil hunters, were in disbelief.

Before going extinct about 3.5 million years ago, megalodon was the largest in a lineage of mega-toothed sharks that would dwarf even the largest modern great whites by comparison.

Megalodon is believed to have reached lengths of 40 feet, with the largest of the species exceeding 60 feet.