It’s the discovery that every Calvert Cliffs beachwalker dreams of: not just a perfectly intact shark tooth, but an unprecedented set of 53 teeth—all from the same prehistoric mega-tooth shark!
The Calvert Marine Museum (CMM) lies in Solomons, Maryland, near a paleontology hot spot. The museum’s curators and staff are worldwide fossil experts, uncovering new evidence of marine life from millions of years ago surprisingly frequently.
But this find is particularly exciting, and it’s a true labor of love. 53 teeth from one individual megalodon were painstakingly collected over the span of six years from the same Calvert Cliffs location.
The megalodon, or “megatooth shark”, the teeth came from would have been close to 50 feet long.
The teeth themselves are eye-popping in size, some of them up to 5.5 inches long. They are serrated, like steak knives. To have found so many teeth preserved together is “exceedingly rare”, according to CMM. Worldwide, the museum says there are fewer than a dozen known “partial dentitions” from megalodons. This collection of teeth is the first to be found at Calvert Cliffs. Along with the 5.5-inch-long front teeth, there are teeth from many different positions in the shark’s mouth. The smallest back teeth are just half an inch long.
How did this historic discovery come about? The unlikely story begins with a tiny fawn, stranded on the beach. CMM’s Paleontology Collections Manager, John Nance, found the fawn while walking the beach in June 2022 and called the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. He worried that the nearly-newborn fawn likely couldn’t survive without its mother. While Nance waited for natural resources officers to reunite the fawn with its mother, he took a long, slow look down the beach for fossils.
Nance began to find a surprising number of teeth in one small area. Usually, even a lucky beachcomber will only find one or two teeth at a time. Nance called CMM’s paleontology curator and assistant curator, Dr. Stephen Godfrey and Dr. Victor Perez. They found additional teeth. CMM’s paleontologists now refer to that day as “The Best Day.” (The day also ended well for the fawn, who was delivered safely back to its mom.)
The teeth CMM staff collected were compared to some others found in the same area years earlier. Because they showed uniformity in color and preservation and came in a variety of sizes, from front teeth to back teeth, it looked like they all came from one individual shark. In another strong piece of evidence, most of the teeth have an unusual spur in the same spot on the root of the tooth.
In all, CMM has been able to amass 53 teeth believed to be from this one megalodon, who would have died somewhere between 20 million and 3.6 million years ago. There are at least 27 more teeth from the same dentition in private collections.
Paleontologists believe even more teeth from this shark may be out there. During the winter of 2015-2016, there was a rumor of someone who found a bucket of megalodon teeth from this same location, and probably from the same shark. CMM affectionately refers to him as “Bucket Guy”. If you are, or know “Bucket Guy”, they ask that you contact CMM’s Paleontology Department (410-326-2042).
CMM says it would not, and cannot legally, confiscate privately collected teeth. A few private collectors have allowed the museum to make casts of the teeth they own.
The set of 53 teeth will be available for all to see as a new exhibit, opening this Friday at CMM, along with casts from the private collections.
The Mezzanine Gallery exhibit, “Out of the Vault,” showcases the teeth and other rare and scientifically significant fossils (like Miocene elephant teeth!), each revealing a unique glimpse into the prehistoric past of the Chesapeake Bay region. The exhibit is funded with a seed grant from The Southern Maryland National Heritage Area and support from local tourism boards and other partners.
Megalodon teeth are essential for experts to study the popular macro-predator. Very few fossilized bones have ever been found, but the teeth reveal plenty about the species. Scientists believe megalodon could have been up to 65 feet long.
If you feel inspired to search for teeth in Southern Maryland, remember that searching along the shore in public areas is allowed, but it is illegal to dig in the cliffs. On private land, owners must grant permission before any digging is done. And if you do see something intriguing sticking out of the cliffs, please call the Calvert Marine Museum.
