A Megalodon giant shark tooth fossil has been discovered in Maribojoc, Bohol, the second time the discovery was made in the town of the island province of Bohol in Central Visayas.
The National Museum – Bohol shared the good news on its social media on June 30, 2020, about the newly found artifact to mark the culmination of Philippine Environmental Month and confirming the island of Bohol as a home natural heritage.
Christian Gio Bangalao found the tooth fossil of the in Brgy. Jandig and donated it to the museum on May 28. The newly found Megalodon tooth fossil measures 7.6 cm x 6.5 cm.
The new find is the second Megalodon tooth fossil found in the town of Maribojoc after Venjo Busalla discovered the first in March 2018, on the grounds of the municipal plaza. It measured 105mm. long and 65mm. wide and was seen half-buried in the soil by Venjo Busalla.
The 2nd Megalodon tooth fossil found in Bohol measures 7.6 cm x 6.5 cm. Photo from NMB.
The Bohol tooth as well as other Megalodon specimens from Cagayan and Pangasinan are on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Rizal Park in Manila.
The Megalodon is considered to be the largest giant predator shark that lived the world’s oceans about 200 million years ago.
“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. Consequently, their bodies never become fossils, and almost all things we know about the animal (size, diet, etc.) are based from their teeth,” the National Museum Bohol reports.
The Philippines has been found to be home to several great archeological and biological finds in the world.
In 2019, the University of the Philippines-lead international archeology team discovered a new hominin species, Homo luzonensis, a new human species contemporaneous with Homo sapiens dubbed “Ubag” (nickname from a mythical caveman) at the Callao Cave in Northern Luzon.
A Filipino-led research team also discovered a new species of Corybas circinatus or helmet orchid in the mountains of Palawan island and Silliman University’s Jade Aster Badon discovered a new subspecies of Appias phoebe nuydai, a butterfly endemic to the Philippines.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to the people of Bohol for hosting great archeological finds such as the Megalodon shark fossils.
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