Beachcombing win: Mother, son find massive tooth of extinct megalodon shark at Cape Lookout

CAPE LOOKOUT, N.C. (WTVD) -- One mother and son duo have quite a story to share after a rare find at a beach on the North Carolina coast.

According to a Facebook post from Cape Lookout National Seashore, the two found a massive megalodon shark tooth while beachcombing.
[Ads /]
The duo made the rare find on Sunday, July 23.

Park rangers said the beach at Cape Lookout isn't known as a place to find shark teeth, however, every once in a while, somebody might find one.

Cape Lookout rangers said this find belonged to a now-extinct shark species known as a megalodon. Scientists estimate that megalodon sharks were at least twice the size of a Great White Shark.

While finding a megalodon tooth at Cape Lookout may be rare, ABC11 talked to some divers who said Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington is a hot spot for them.

RELATED | NC Coast is hot spot for prehistoric Megalodon shark teeth


The Natural History Museum says the megalodon was not only the biggest shark in the world, but one of the largest fish ever to exist. Their sizes are actually based on tooth size because there are no skeletons of the shark, which went extinct nearly four million years ago, the museum says on its website.

Mystery of cracked megalodon tooth solved by NC State researchers

[Ads /]
How large are Great White Sharks?
Smithsonian Ocean says females range from 15-16 feet long and males range from 11-13 feet long.

Girl discovers million-year-old shark tooth during spring break trip to North Carolina