A “treasure hunter at coronary heart,” Captain Michael Nastasio isn’t any stranger to the waters of Florida. By way of all of the wonders he’s discovered below the ocean, nonetheless, considered one of his most up-to-date discoveries topped all of them: two 6-inch megalodon shark enamel, among the many largest ever found.
Together with its thriving reptile inhabitants, Florida can be dwelling to Venice Seaside, the shark tooth capital of the world.
Tens of millions of years in the past, the Sunshine State wasn’t so sunny. As an alternative, it was completely submerged by water housing numerous species of sharks. Sure, sharks actually are that previous – they not solely predate dinosaurs however timber as nicely!
Due to this, the waters off the coast of Venice maintain a treasure trove of shark enamel and are among the many finest locations to search for fossils. For the previous 12 years, constitution boat captain Michael Nastasio has taken full benefit of this historical cache, spending “eight days per week” trying to find hidden treasures.
And although he nonetheless appreciates each discover, the pair of 6-inch megalodon enamel was undeniably among the many most enjoyable. The primary he discovered was 6 inches on the dot and damaged on the high. Regardless of its flaws, nonetheless, it was nonetheless an astounding discovery.
“Impulsively that tooth was simply sitting there,” Nastasio informed The State. “It was simply watching me like, ‘Good day.’ I couldn’t consider it.”
Simply when he thought the day couldn’t get any higher, Nastasio found a second megalodon tooth. Not like the primary, this one was totally intact – and even bigger at 6.25 inches. For reference, the most important ever discovered was simply over 7 inches lengthy.
“I used to be already on cloud 9,” the diver mentioned. “So when I discovered the second and it was full, my thoughts was blown.”
How massive was the megalodon shark with 6-inch enamel?
Although we have now loads of their enamel, megalodons largely stay a thriller, even amongst consultants. An entire fossilized skeleton of the large shark has by no means been discovered. As such, scientists can solely speculate on the dimensions of a megalodon with 6-inch enamel.
A technique they accomplish that is by utilizing the dimensions of nice white sharks as a comparability, because it’s believed the 2 are shut kinfolk. With trendy sharks, the bigger the animal, the bigger the enamel. Utilizing this data, consultants could make an informed guess on the measurement of these now not residing.
“The tooth right here appears to be like to me to be an higher anterior tooth [near the front of the mouth],” defined Victor Perez, a shark fossil professional. “And in order that 6.25-inch measurement in all probability interprets to a shark that might’ve been no less than 15 meters lengthy, nicely over 50 ft.”
Emma Bernard, curator of the Fossil Fish part of the Pure Historical past Museum in London, agreed with Perez’s evaluation. “Based mostly on the dimensions of the tooth, it could have belonged to one of many bigger megalodons,” she mentioned. “Estimates have the most important megalodon at about 15 to probably 18 meters in size. The 15-meter mark is essentially the most applicable.”
For comparability, the most important residing animal is the blue whale, a marine mammal stretching a most confirmed size of practically 100 ft. A 50-foot megalodon shark can be roughly the dimensions of a humpback whale.
Megalodons went extinct some 3 and half million years in the past, however their enamel give us a glimpse at their staggering measurement. “Simply attempting to think about these animals being on the market, it’s simply so arduous to wrap your head round it,” Nastasio mentioned.
This text by Caitlin Berard was first printed by The Outsider on 25 June 2023. Lead Picture by Mark Kostich through Getty Photos.
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