TULUM.- Two massive, prehistoric shark teeth—the first of their kind scientifically documented in Quintana Roo—have been pulled from the depths of a cenote and are now on display for the public. The stunning discovery, which offers a rare glimpse into the region's ancient past, is the star attraction at the Regional Museum of the Eastern Coast in Tulum.

The journey of these teeth began in 2019, when expert cave diver Juan Cardona was exploring Cenote Maravilla, 28 meters below the surface. He found one tooth and reported his discovery to the Great Mayan Aquifer (GAM) project, a team dedicated to studying and preserving the underwater world of the Yucatán Peninsula. The team later found a second, larger tooth embedded in limestone rock, which was carefully extracted in 2021 to prevent looting.

The teeth are from an Otodus megalodon, a colossal shark that lived more than 2 million years ago and could grow up to 18 meters long—double the size of a modern great white. One tooth belonged to a juvenile, while the other, the size of a human hand, came from an adult.

Paleontologist Gerardo González Barba, an expert in fossil sharks, confirmed the species and dated the teeth to the Miocene-Pliocene epoch, over 2.5 million years ago. He explained that back then, the Yucatán Peninsula was submerged under the sea. "They possibly fell to the bottom of the sea more than 15 million years ago," he said, as calcareous mud layers accumulated, burying the teeth in the sediment that would eventually become the peninsula's limestone rock.

The discovery is not just a geological find; it's a window into an ancient ecosystem. The GAM project's research suggests that this area of Quintana Roo may have been a prehistoric breeding and feeding ground for these magnificent predators.

In a modern twist, the teeth have also become part of a digital preservation effort. Researchers, with support from organizations like National Geographic Society and the Swiss Embassy in Mexico, have created a high-resolution digital reproduction of the fossils to preserve them for future study.

For now, visitors to the INAH's Regional Museum of the Eastern Coast can stand face-to-face with these incredible artifacts, marveling at the sheer scale of the planet's past and the hidden stories preserved in Mexico's underwater caves.