Woman finds prehistoric megalodon tooth in dive off N.C. coast

A woman diving off the coast of North Carolina found a megalodon tooth on May 15, close to seven inches in length, that she believes is between 2-20 million years old. 

Sandra Clopp, owner of Megalodon Shark Tooth Huntress was about 50 miles off the coast of N.C and diving in about 100 feet of water when she found the massive tooth.

"[The teeth] came from prehistoric sharks that lived to be up to 70 feet, the chances of finding ones that are intact rolling around in the ocean are incredibly rare," said Clopp. 

Megalodon sharks are the length of one and a half to two standard school buses in length. 

It was a sunny, clear day when she sailed from Carolina Beach. Clopp has been diving for over 20 years and specializes in megalodon tooth hunting and providing scuba diving lessons. 

Weather plays a large role in the number of teeth divers are able to fine. Clopp said she believed hurricanes forming in South America helped push this massive tooth to the top layers of the ocean floor. 

"Things look bigger underwater," Clopp said. "They're magnified, and it looked absolutely huge." 

When she measured the tooth, it came out to be 6.94 inches long. 

She said she has done over 5,000 hours of diving, and 2,000 have been in North Carolina.  

"People tend to be discreet with their discoveries," Clopp said. "This is the biggest one that I've found. I have two 6.8-inch teeth. This is close to seven inches, which is as big as they've gotten around the world, ever. So, we are all sort of on the hunt for the elusive seven incher."

North Carolina is a hot spot for megalodon teeth, as it was a feeding ground for megalodon sharks. Each shark has about 250 teeth. Carbon dating is used to estimate the age of the megalodon teeth. However, Clopp's estimate of this tooth comes from the ages of other teeth found in this area. 

She started her business during COVID. She said she spent a lot of time in North Carolina, because diving wasn't restricted during the pandemic. She has a large collection of teeth, and she began selling them in 2020 to help pay for the costs associated with diving. 

Clopp said this was her most memorable dive, but others have also made the list. One time a massive turtle landed on her head. She said the turtle stayed with her for 15 minutes and was very interested in her work underwater. Clopp has a YouTube channel where she shares all her underwater experiences.