Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - It really doesn't matter whether the person is young or older, it's a find of a lifetime. Still, to a youngster who is only eight years, a discovery of this kind can even inspire him to one day pursue a career as a paleontologist.
During a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the boy Riley Gracely of Pennsylvania discovered a giant tooth believed to be from the long-extinct angustidens – a megatooth shark species. According to Palmetto Fossil Excursions (PFE), the boy discovered a 4.75-inch tooth belonging to the extinct shark Carcharocles angustidens while participating in a fossil-hunting excursion near Summerville.
Riley Gracely, 8, found a fossilized shark tooth that's believed to be from the long-extinct angustidens, a prehistoric megatooth shark species. He found the tooth during a vacation trip in August 2022. (Palmetto Fossil Excursions and Team)
Riley "was walking around the bases of these piles of gravel and dirt and noticed what he thought was the edge of a tooth," said the proud father, Justin Gracely, in an email to Fox News Digital.
"When he pulled it out, he was so excited."
"Truly the find of a lifetime," wrote the Palmetto Fossil Excursions group in a Facebook post on Aug. 11.. "This young man just scored a 4.75" Angustiden tooth in our Premium Gravel Layer piles on a dry dig!!!"
"Just to give perspective — any [angustidens] over 4" is the equivalent of finding a 6" [megalodon], and an [angustidens] at 4.75" is the equivalent of finding a 6.5" megalodon tooth," the group wrote.
the boy's find continued to draw hundreds of likes and dozens of comments on Facebook.
"Meet a future paleontologist! Good job, young man!" one user wrote.
"Wow, that is one amazing fossil! Congratulations!" Matthew Migel posted.
As reported by the Fox News, "the Gracelys enjoy hunting for fossils as a family and have done creek excursions, dry digs and other premium gravel pile digs.
"This was our third straight year of excursions with this outfit, and they have been the best," Justin Gracely wrote. "I wish they had these excursions when I was younger because it is a blast."
He continued, "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."
"It’s something that anyone of any age can enjoy."
Palmetto Fossil Excursions explains that its team "began as a journey for two individuals to share their passion for paleontology with others," as it notes on its website.
Artistic impression of a megalodon pursuing two Eobalaenoptera whales. Credit: Karen Carr - CC BY 3.0
"Today, the Palmetto team consists of multiple guides from various backgrounds that all bring something unique of their own to the table."
It adds, "Together we use our unique capabilities to work in unison to find new sites and new ways of teaching others about the past life that existed in the Coastal Plain region of South Carolina so that we can continue to offer an always-evolving experience to our clients."
They also explain more on Facebook about "the premium layer."
It's "the fossil layer that we are currently excavating from another location and trucking over to our 100-acre pit," the group notes on its Facebook page.
"The other location was scheduled to be turned into a giant pond, so running our excursions there on a long-term basis like we would have liked wasn’t really an option. Instead of losing all of the amazing fossils to water, the owner of that location has so graciously allowed us to dig up the fossil layer with an excavator for the last three months and have it trucked over to our pit."
Credit: Palmetto Fossil Excursions and Team
They also explain, "We call it ‘premium’ due to the high quality of preservation in the hastalis, tigers, cows, great whites and bull shark teeth that are coming out of it. There are also a high number of megalodon teeth and large angustidens in the layer, along with whale, tapir, and other mammal teeth."
They add, "Simply speaking, this is some of the richest fossil layer we have ever seen. The colors on the fossils are also amazing, which is caused by the sediment in which they fossilized."
Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
