Maryland 9-year-old finds 15 million-year-old megalodon tooth

Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A Maryland 9-year-old searching for shark teeth on a beach made her largest discovery to date -- a 15 million-year-old megalodon tooth.

Molly Sampson was out searching for shark teeth on Calvert County Cliffs on Christmas Day when she found a megalodon tooth the size of her hand.

"I couldn't believe it, it was so exciting," Sampson told WJLA-TV. "I usually find little ones, I never thought I would find a big one like that."

Sampson took her discovery to the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomon's Island, where experts confirmed it was an ancient megalodon tooth.

"Based on where she found it on Calvert cliff, we estimate that it's about 15 million years old," said Stephen Godfrey, the museum's curator of paleontology.

Sampson said she hopes to become a paleontologist when she grows up.