8-year-old finds million year-old prehistoric megashark tooth

A fossilized shark tooth from a species that has been extinct for many years now has been discovered by a curious 8-year-old boy.

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Riley Gracely of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, traveled to Myrtle Beach with his father, Justin Gravely, his mother, Janelle Gracely, and his brother, Collin. The family decided to have a look around Palmetto Fossil Excursion Summerville, South Carolina, in search of a discovery, which was later found by Riley, who was exploring the bases of large piles of dirt and gravel. Riley bent down and pulled out what he believed to be a tooth and when the object was finally excavated, it was revealed to be a 4.75-inch tooth from a prehistoric shark.

In an email to Fox News Digital, Justin Gracely explained that employees at the Palmetto Fossil Excursions said that Riley's discovery was significant considering the species the tooth is from, its condition, and its size. Officials confirmed the tooth to be from an Otodus angustidens, which is a species of megatooth shark that is a close relative of the megalodon, the world's largest prehistoric shark that measured in at a whopping 68 feet in length.

Officials believe that megalodons lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago, and angustidens lived about 33 million to 22 million years ago. Angustidens are estimated to have been around 30.5 feet in length, and according to the Palmetto Fossil Excursions group, "Just to give perspective - any [angustidens] over 4-inches; is the equivalent of finding a 6-inch; [megalodon], and an [angustidens] at 4.75-inches; is the equivalent of finding a 6.5-inch megalodon tooth".

Notably, Justin Gracely explained that throughout the family's trip, they found 7-8 species of teeth and that the family is avid fossil hunters, with 2022 being their third straight year of fossil excursions.

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In other news, Andrew Tate has been banned from social media platforms such as Meta's Instagram and Facebook, along with TikTok conducting an investigation into any content/account posting Tate-centered content.

The social media superstar has since replied to the ban and spoken to several outlets about what he thinks is being blown out of proportion while also back peddling on other statements claiming he was playing a character while saying what many have considered being misogynic or dangerous - including the social media platforms, hence the banning.

For more information on that story, check out the link below.

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