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Parenting Tips Articles
May / June 2005
Shark Tooth Hunting 101
By P.J. Goetz
www.tampawithkids.com
I love to go shark tooth hunting with my kids.
They love to pretend to be paleontologists and get excited at
holding a part of a animal that lived as long as 30 million years
ago. It's great fun to watch my kids hunt up and down the beach
for shark's teeth. We find it almost irresistible to be on any
beach in Florida without checking the shoreline for teeth. We are
lucky because the supply seems to be endless due the amount of
teeth a shark loses in its lifetime and the fact that sharks have
been swimming around Florida for millions of years.
Sharks teeth may be black, brown, or gray,
depending on the minerals in the soil in which they have been
buried. They range in size from one-eighth inch to three inches,
and on rare occasions more. My favorite places to find sharks
teeth in Florida include; Amelia Island (near Jacksonville), the
Peace River and any beach from Sarasota to Fort Myers. Once you
get started hunting for sharks teeth you'll get hooked and spend
many hours walking down the beach in search of "the big
one".
Every collector has their own way of finding
sharks teeth. Some of my best tips are: To find the best selection
of teeth on the beach start your hunt as the high tide recedes and
the lowering tide uncovers teeth that were washed ashore. Check
areas that the tide has piled up shells, which can hold sharks
teeth and fossilized bone. If you get really hooked start your
hunt just as the rains of a heavy storm are ending. The waves of
the storm will bring great treasures to shore. The personnel of
the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology of the Florida Museum of
Natural History will identify up to ten of your sharks teeth for
free. After a good day of hunting have each of your kids pick the
tooth that they like the best. Take a digital photo of the tooth
next to a ruler (for scale) and email the image as a jpeg to
rhulbert@flmnh.ufl.edu. In your email include where you found the
specimen to help them identify it. First time collectors should
stop by the Chamber of Commerce in Venice for a little package of
fossilized sharks teeth (free for children). Venice Municipal
Beach is an excellent place to find sharks teeth and other
fossilized material. Just south of Venice stop by Sharky's for
lunch or for shark tooth hunting equipment and resources. The age
group best suited for shark tooth hunting is early school age thru
teenagers; preschoolers get bored quickly and as any good shark
tooth hunter knows the name of the game patience.
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