This Megalodon tooth fossil found in Brgy. Jandig, Maribojoc in Bohol signals that a largest shark that lived in the world's ocean is in the Philippines.
According to a Facebook post by the Bohol National Museum on June 30, 2020, the tooth was discovered by Christian Gio B. Bangalao with a size of (7.6 cm x 6.5 cm) and it was turned over to the museum on May 28, 2020.
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It's not the first time that Bohol found the same tooth, in 2018 the first megalodon tooth was found by Venjo Busalla, a local at Maribojoc's town plaza.
"It is currently on display in the National Museum of Natural History in Manila together with other megalodon specimens from Cagayan and Pangasinan," according to Facebook post.
" So far in the Philippines, only the teeth are found. Like other sharks, most of their skeleton, except for their teeth, is made of not bone but cartilage (like our nose and ears), which doesn’t preserve well in the fossil record," it explained.
The megalodon is considered as the largest shark that ever lived in the world’s oceans. The earliest fossils date to 20 million years ago. The species went extinct and disappeared from the fossil record about 2.6 million years ago.
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| Megalodon tooth versus the teeth of a great white shark. Photo credit: britannica |
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Modern shark pups, however, are still observed by local fishermen at the the mouth of Abatan river in Brgy. Lincod in Maribojoc. This could mean that the area could be a nursery for some sharks. Use of estuaries as nurseries is a known aspect of shark behavior.
As apex predators, sharks are important in maintaining the balance of our oceans' ecosystems. In this light, shark nurseries are essential habitats that must be conserved.
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