Plymouth Boy’s Found Megalodon Tooth Is the Treasure of a Lifetime

Most boys get a toy dinosaur for their fifth birthday but Brayden Drew of Plymouth got something much more special when he found a rare megalodon tooth while playing in the sand on Myrtle Beach.

Brayden and his family were on vacation in when a casual day at the beach turned into the find of a lifetime. While digging in the sand with his dad Josh and brother Logan, Brayden dug up what he thought was a giant seashell. He had almost thrown it out when his dad realized what the black "seashell" actually was: a four-inch-long tooth from the prehistoric megalodon shark.

What made Brayden’s treasure extra special was the simple fact that he found it on his fifth birthday, May 20.

"He told my husband he found a sea shell and almost threw it. My husband immediately grabbed it and knew exactly what it was. He told Brayden how special it was and how old the tooth is” said his mom Marissa. A few people came over to look at the treasure themselves and take pictures, too.

The megalodon is an extinct species of shark that lived approximately 23 million to 3.6 million years ago, according to Wikipedia, which highlights just how rare and special it is to find a tooth at all, never mind finding one a few inches deep in the sand of a popular beach on your birthday.

Marissa said Brayden and her husband are both still over the moon about the find, noting that Brayden was super excited to tell his preschool class and entire family about it once they came back home.

The family is hoping to hang the tooth in a shadow box and display it in their home for future storytelling. She said that both Brayden and his dad now hope every beach day turns into a fossil-finding adventure.