Fossil Alligator Tooth
Alligator mississippiensis
A blunt, conical tooth with a hollow base, rounder and stubbier than a shark tooth.
- Typical size
- 0.4–2 in
- How often it turns up
- Common
- Collecting
- Archaeological, leave in place
- Handling
- Safe to handle
Vertebrate fossils collected from state-owned land or submerged bottoms in Florida require a fossil permit from the Florida Museum of Natural History. Beach-washed finds above the waterline are generally fine, but know your site.
How to tell it apart
- Cone-shaped with a hollow open base
- Smooth enamel, faint vertical lines
- Dark brown to black when fossil
Found one?
Photograph it and BeachNut will rank the likely matches, then log it to your collection.
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