A walk along the beach can turn into an unexpected mystery in a matter of seconds. For anyone who has ever searched through sand near the shoreline, the experience is familiar: shells, driftwood, smooth stones, and other unusual objects often appear where the water meets the land.Geology

Most finds are easy to identify. A shell may be worn by the waves, a piece of wood may be shaped by saltwater and sun, and small fragments of marine life often wash ashore after storms or shifting tides.

But every so often, the beach leaves behind something far more puzzling. That was the case for a beachcomber in Pensacola, Florida, who discovered a strange, toothy object in the sand that looked as if it might have belonged to something ancient.

The mystery continued for nearly two decades. For twenty years, the beachcomber was left with a strange piece from the shoreline and no clear answer about where it had come from or what creature it had once belonged to.