The Melbourne Museum in Australia unveiled a rare fossilized find Thursday: a "jaw-full" of gigantic shark teeth. Found along the Surf Coast in Victoria by a fossil enthusiast named Phillip Mullaly, the teeth measure a stunning 2.7 inches long, and are evidence that the megalodon wasn't the only gigantic shark prowling around our ancient waters.
Upon examination, the teeth were found to have belonged to a type of shark called the "great jagged narrow-toothed shark," or Carcharocles angustidens, Fox News reported. A cousin of the famous megalodon, this gigantic shark would have measured over 30 feet in length — aka, twice the length of a great white shark.
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It's rare to find more than one matching shark tooth at a time because sharks naturally lose their teeth one at a time throughout their lives, so finding such a large number in the same place was unexpected. Even more exciting, the teeth are still largely intact, despite being 25 million years old. Because most of a shark's body is made up of cartilage, not bone, these teeth are a huge stepping stone into learning more about the prehistoric past of Australia's oceans.
The teeth will remain on display as part of an exhibit in the Melbourne Museum until Oct. 7. Read more about the find at Fox News.
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