A shark tooth that is estimated to be 10 million years old was found on a public beach in the San Francisco Bay area in California on Thursday. 

The tooth, discovered by scientist Giancarlo Thomae, came from a megalodon shark - an extinct 60-foot great white shark, which was one of the most powerful predators in history, reported SF Gate.

Historic finds often occur after major Pacific storms because of the high amounts of wind-driven rain. 

"What happens is the heavy rain, wind and runoff erodes mountain gullies, creek beds and coastal bluffs," Thomae said to SF Gate. "That can uncover fossil deposits in ancient sandstone formations. In the coastal hills, floodwaters can carry the fossils down creeks and into the ocean. The hydraulic action of the surf zone then digs them up and then, in a high tide, deposits them on the beach. That's one way it can work." 

Thomae's discovery on Thursday came after California's most ferocious storm in the last five years. 

Although a big storm like this makes it more common for historic finds to turn up, finding a gem such as the megalodon tooth is a difficult task - even for scientists. 

Thomae found the tooth while he was searching the edge of an ancient sandstone formation in the Santa Cruz foothills, reported SF Gate. Scientists have previously identified this area as once being a sea floor, which is why scientists mainly make extinct marine finds in the foothills.