Beachcombers are typically looking for sea glass, shells and shark teeth that wash in with the tide. But the tide on North Carolina's Outer Banks brought something a little bigger this week: part of a humpback whale skull.

National Park Service rangers at Cape Hatteras National Seashore said the section of the skull washed up this week on the beach on the barrier island.

Humpback whales grow to be 40 tons and up to 60 feet long. North Atlantic humpbacks migrate past the Outer Banks each year. 

"Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have specialized skull structures to support their unique feeding behaviors," NPS said on social media, sharing a photo of the skull. 

"Their skulls are relatively flexible, especially around the jaw joints, which enables them to open their mouths wide to consume large volumes of water and prey. The also have mandibles (lower jaws) that are not fused to their skulls," NPS said. 

This is not the first big find on Hatteras Island this week. National park staff said they also found their first sea turtle nest of the season over the weekend. 

Last month, a juvenile humpback whale tangled in fishing gear washed up on Pea Island on the Outer Banks. Seven dead whales have been found this spring on the coast in Virginia and North Carolina.