Ancient megalodon shark tooth as big as human hand found in South Carolina

‘It’s mind-boggling that we now have a fossil on our mantel that is 3-5 million years old’

A woman in South Carolina has discovered an ancient megalodon shark tooth that is as big as a human hand.

Jessica Rose-Standafer Owens said she noticed part of the grey tooth sticking out of a riverbank in near Stono River near Charleston.

Ms Owens and her husband recorded the moment the couple discovered the tooth and posted the video to social media.

“I became excited and asked my husband to come down and to grab the phone (to record), because who would believe we found one that close to the surface?”, Ms Owens told McClatchy News.

I always hear of people finding them by digging and/or diving,” she said.

According to the outlet, the tooth measured 5.75 inches and weighed 15.9 ounces.

In the footage Ms Owens can be heard exclaiming in disbelief when she pulls the tooth from the ground as she says “I’m literally about the cry”.

“We were shocked,” she said in an email to McClatchy News. “The tooth is just incredible and it’s mind-boggling that we now have a fossil on our mantel that is 3-5 million years old. Just wild.”

The unofficial record for a megalodon tooth found in South Carolina is reported to have been 6.5 inches.

The coastal area is famous for hosting teeth from ancient megalodons due to it having previously been a seafloor.

The sharks are regarded by scientists to be one of the largest predators to have ever lived.