8-Year-Old Discovers 25 Million-Year-Old Prehistoric Shark Tooth In South Carolina

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Talk about fulfilling a childhood dream, and making history while you’re at it.

Whenever you went to the beach as a kid, you more than likely tried your best to scope up and down the beaches in an effort to find that illusive shark tooth.

Of course, most of the time you probably ran into a few sand dollars, some broken up shells, beached jellyfish, or empty beer cans.

However, every once in a blue moon you’d find a tiny shark’s tooth, and walk away feeling like you just won the lottery.

With that being said, this kid got to live out the ultimate childhood dream.

According to FOX News, eight-year-old Riley Gracely and his family had taken a trip down from their home in Pennsylvania, to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for vacation.

On the way down, the family made a stop at Palmetto Fossil Excursions in Summerville, South Carolina, where guides give visitors a chance to discover fossilized shark teeth in Summerville.

While Riley was hunting for fossils, he discovered what he believed was a small part of a tooth, according to his dad, Justin.

Sure enough, once Riley pulled the tooth completely out of the dirt, he realized he had something special on his hands.

Justin recalled:

“When he pulled it out, he was so excited.”

Once experts studied the massive tooth, they realized it was from a prehistoric shark species called C. angustidens, measured it at 4.75 inches, and was well preserved and in great condition.

The species of sharks lived from 33 to 22 million years ago, and were in the same family as the well known megalodon, and are believed to have grown as big as 30 feet long.

Justin continued:

“We are so proud of Riley.

We vacation in Myrtle Beach every summer, so from the time that Riley and his brother Collin could walk, we’ve been into searching for these treasures on the beach.

Riley’s collection is still in its early stages, so he’s keeping it for now, but who knows in time. It would be nice for others to enjoy it, too.”

Not to mention, that thing could be worth a pretty penny, too…

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