PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — It was the discovery of a lifetime for two science teachers at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, who uncovered the ancient bones of a mastodon while diving in local waters.

Henry Sadler and Rick Cochrane have been friends since attending Eckerd College together. They also both worked at an area dive shop as scuba instructors. Now, they pair teach science at Admiral Farragut Academy and in their free time, dive for fossils.

“Often times we have to dive into really pitch black waters,” Sadler says.

Which is exactly what the guys were doing when they made their latest and perhaps greatest discovery.

“I just hear a bunch of screaming. That’s what started this discovery,” Sadler said. ‘I hear bubbles and noise and at first I’m worried and I look to my side and I see Rick staring at these two mastodon teeth sticking straight up out of the sand.”

It soon became clear the pair had found not only the teeth but also the jaw and tusks of a mastodon, giant creatures that roamed the earth during the ice age.

The teachers said it’s rare to find mastodon fossils this complete. Like they do with other fossils they find, Sadler and Cochrane reported their findings to the Florida Museum of Natural History. While the pair has donated a number of fossils to the museum, these will be returned to the classroom once properly preserved.

“There’s so much they learn and get to do because we get to bring them in and share this with them,” Cochrane said.

Along with reporting their findings, both teachers have fossil collecting permits from the state.