Nine-year-old Molly Sampson has been on the hunt for shark teeth in the water since before she could even walk. Over the years, she has collected more than 400 shark teeth, ranging from minuscule ones that require a magnifying glass to examine, to larger ones measuring up to a couple of inches—until her recent, remarkable discovery.
Molly's father, Bruce, grew up near the bay in Calvert County, Maryland, and has been searching for fossils at Scientists Cliffs since he was a child. For decades, Bruce has dreamed of finding a “meg”—a large tooth from a megalodon, an enormous prehistoric shark longer than a bus, believed by scientists to have been able to consume a killer whale in just five bites.
Sometimes, our dreams come true through our children, and that's exactly what happened on Christmas Day, 2022, when the Sampson family went on a fossil hunting expedition.
Molly woke up that morning excited to try out her new insulated chest waders—the one thing she and her older sister Natalie really wanted for Christmas, according to their mother. They were eager to use them for their shark tooth search in the bay alongside their dad. While this was a common family activity, something about this particular outing felt different.
“I'm going to find a meg!” Molly declared on the drive to the cliffs.
In 10-degree wind chills, the three of them ventured into the water, each searching in different areas. Within 20 minutes, Molly let out an excited scream and emerged holding a massive tooth, nearly the size of her hand. “Look what I found!” she shouted.
Molly's mom, Alicia, says it was as if Molly had willed the “meg” into existence that day.
“In her head, she kept asking herself, ‘Am I dreaming?'” Alicia told Upworthy. “She couldn't believe it was real and kept repeating that she couldn't believe what she'd found.”
Bruce quickly snapped a picture of Molly holding her incredible discovery and sent it to Alicia, who had stayed home to avoid the cold. (She admits regretting that decision after seeing the huge smile on her daughter's face.)
Molly told her mom that she had to dive into the water and get her arms wet to reach the 5-inch tooth, but the effort was worth it.
Even for experienced fossil hunters, finding such a treasure is rare. The name “megalodon” literally translates to “giant tooth,” and the fossils that have been discovered date back roughly 23 million to 2.6 million years.
Stephen Godfrey, curator of paleontology at the Calvert Marine Museum, told CBS News that Molly's tooth came from the left side of a megalodon's upper jaw. The shark that this tooth belonged to would have been between 45 and 50 feet long, about the size of a humpback whale.
The Calvert Marine Museum shared on Facebook that Molly had brought her tooth to their paleontology department for examination, but she gets to keep it in her own collection at home.
“My husband is going to build a shadow box for her to display it safely,” Alicia said. “I’m sure she will always keep this tooth. To her—and to us—it’s priceless. The joy and excitement it has brought her is something that money can’t buy.”
Molly has expressed interest in pursuing a career in fossil hunting, and with this incredible start, she’s well on her way. She and Natalie have even launched their own “Fossil Girls” Instagram page to share their passion for fossil hunting with others.
Congratulations to Molly on her amazing discovery. Happy hunting to the entire Sampson family!