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Prince George can keep prehistoric shark tooth, Malta makes a u-turn

Earlier, Malta’s Culture Minister Jose Herrera said on Monday he would “set the ball rolling” in retrieving the tooth

By Web Desk
|
September 30, 2020
Prince George can keep prehistoric shark tooth, Malta makes a u-turn

Malta, making a rapid U-turn, over a prehistoric shark tooth that was given as a present to Britain’s Prince George by naturalist Sir David Attenborough, has said that Prince George was welcome to keep a fossilised shark tooth.

According to a report by Reuters, the 23-million-year-old fossil was discovered by Attenborough in Malta when he was holidaying on the Mediterranean island in the 1960s.

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share new photographs of their family with @DavidAttenborough. The photographs were taken earlier this week in the gardens of Kensington Palace, after The Duke and Sir David attended an outdoor screening of Sir David’s upcoming feature film ️ ‘David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet’. With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, they continue to support one another in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges our planet faces. This includes working together on The @EarthshotPrize the most prestigious global environment prize in history – further details of which will be shared in the coming weeks. When they met, Sir David gave Prince George a tooth from a giant shark the scientific name of which is carcharocles megalodon (‘big tooth’). Sir David found the tooth on a family holiday to Malta in the late 1960s, embedded in the island’s soft yellow limestone which was laid down during the Miocene period some 23 million years ago. Carcharocles is believed to have grown to 15 metres in length, which is about twice the length of the Great White, the largest shark alive today.

A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@kensingtonroyal) on

The veteran naturalist gave it to George, 7, at the weekend.

Earlier, Malta’s Culture Minister Jose Herrera said on Monday he would “set the ball rolling” in retrieving the tooth, but the plan rapidly ran aground.

“It is not (our) intention to pursue this matter any further,” a ministry spokesman said, without giving any explanation for the abrupt change of heart.

Herrera’s move on Monday had raised some negative comments on social media, with critics pointing out that fossilised teeth of megalodon sharks can be bought for less than 50 euros.