Shark Teeth: Where to Look and What to Notice

Shark teeth are one of the most rewarding Florida finds because they are common, durable and easy to identify once your eye adjusts.

Look in gravel, not sand

Teeth are dense. They settle out with other small heavy material, which means shell hash, coarse gravel and the darker mineral streaks in the sand. Wide expanses of clean sand almost never hold them. Find a patch of gravel the size of a beach towel and search it properly.

Build the search image

Most fossil teeth are black, grey or brown against pale shell fragments, so scan for colour first. Then look for the shape: a triangle with a straight or gently curved edge, and a distinct root at the base that is usually a slightly different shade from the blade. Enamel is smooth and reflects light differently from broken shell — a tooth often shows up as a small glossy spot.

Modern teeth from living sharks are lighter, often near-white, and turn up less often on Florida sand.

Where the teeth concentrate

Anywhere flowing water slows down and drops heavy material: the base of the beach slope, the seaward edge of a shell bar, the downdrift side of groins and jetties, gullies cut by outflow, and the low spots between bars at low tide. Beaches near eroding fossil-bearing deposits or river mouths tend to be more productive.

Technique

Many people work the swash zone on a falling tide, scanning the thin sheet of water as it drains and reveals gravel. Others sift with a scoop or a floating screen where that is permitted. Whatever you use, work slowly across a small area rather than fast across a long one.

What to record

When you log a tooth, note the beach, the tide and where on the profile you found it. A few sessions of that record tells you more about your local beaches than any guide can.

Handling

Teeth can be sharp along the edges and serrations. Rinse in fresh water and let them dry rather than scrubbing, which can damage a fragile root.