Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My other major hobby is collecting shark teeth. It's a great hobby that never gets boring. (And I get bored easily!) I enjoy it not only because of the variety and beauty of the teeth, but it is quite educational if you want it to be. Collecting teeth/fossils encompasses geology, paleontology, geography, taxonomy, etc., which is fun for a nerd like me. Here a few pics that touch the tip of the iceberg. Thanks for looking.

Thanks,
Ed

Here's a picture that shows the size range fossil shark teeth. The tiny spot on the center of the big tooth is a
little tooth from a Cat shark. The big tooth is a "Holy Grail" type of tooth for collectors, it's a 6" megalodon
tooth from Aurora, NC. There is a phosphate mine in Aurora where giant excavators dig up the fossil layers to
get to the phosphate, which is deep down in the ground. The big tooth is 2 to 5 Million Years old, the small one
probably about 10 MYO.

Here's a neat tooth from the lower jaw of an extinct Cow shark. A few types of cow shark exist today, they are
also called 6 gilled and 7 gilled sharks. Their teeth are unique, and also vary in shape/size depending on tooth
position. This one was found in the Atacama Desert, Chile, South America, and is about 2-5 MYO.

This one I found myself in a creek in eastern NC. And yes, I screamed like a little girl when I found it. (Good thing I was in the middle of the woods!) It's a Great White (C. carcharias) tooth. (Same species as the extant Great White.) A little over 2 1/4" long, and less than 2 MYO.

Here's one of my favorites, it's a 5" red/orange/brown megalodon from Meherrin River, NC. (Most megalodon teeth you see are
found in coastal rivers.)

This is a really colorful tooth from an extinct type of mako shark. It was found in Bakersfield, California. (about 10 MYO)

Cool educational post. And really glad to hear you found one of those yourself!!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Ed,
...Really good info.
Thanks,
Jeff

>>My other major hobby is collecting shark teeth. It's a great hobby that never gets boring. (And I get bored easily!) I enjoy it not only because of the variety and beauty of the teeth, but it is quite educational if you want it to be. Collecting teeth/fossils encompasses geology, paleontology, geography, taxonomy, etc., which is fun for a nerd like me. Here a few pics that touch the tip of the iceberg. Thanks for looking.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Ed
>>
>>
>>Here's a picture that shows the size range fossil shark teeth. The tiny spot on the center of the big tooth is a
>>little tooth from a Cat shark. The big tooth is a "Holy Grail" type of tooth for collectors, it's a 6" megalodon
>>tooth from Aurora, NC. There is a phosphate mine in Aurora where giant excavators dig up the fossil layers to
>>get to the phosphate, which is deep down in the ground. The big tooth is 2 to 5 Million Years old, the small one
>>probably about 10 MYO.
>>
>>
>>Here's a neat tooth from the lower jaw of an extinct Cow shark. A few types of cow shark exist today, they are
>>also called 6 gilled and 7 gilled sharks. Their teeth are unique, and also vary in shape/size depending on tooth
>>position. This one was found in the Atacama Desert, Chile, South America, and is about 2-5 MYO.
>>
>>
>>
>>This one I found myself in a creek in eastern NC. And yes, I screamed like a little girl when I found it. (Good thing I was in the middle of the woods!) It's a Great White (C. carcharias) tooth. (Same species as the extant Great White.) A little over 2 1/4" long, and less than 2 MYO.
>>
>>
>>
>>Here's one of my favorites, it's a 5" red/orange/brown megalodon from Meherrin River, NC. (Most megalodon teeth you see are
>>found in coastal rivers.)
>>
>>
>>This is a really colorful tooth from an extinct type of mako shark. It was found in Bakersfield, California. (about 10 MYO)
>>

That's really cool. I must admit I know nothing about shark evolution, but I do own a little shark jaw I purchased as a little kid because it fascinated me about 30 years ago. Are you collecting or interested in teeth from other species?

lmmisch@yahoo.com

..sorry about that.

Linda

Wow! Very impressive. I vacation in Venice, fL and it claims to be 'Sharks tooth capital of the world'. I have never found anyting more than a tiny tooth, but divers seem to get some decent ones.

Great pics and great info!
-----
Mike

7.13 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

Hey Mike,

Thanks. It's probably hard to find too much on the beach, except maybe after a big storm. Get on the scuba gear!

Thanks,
Ed

>>Wow! Very impressive. I vacation in Venice, fL and it claims to be 'Sharks tooth capital of the world'. I have never found anyting more than a tiny tooth, but divers seem to get some decent ones.
>>
>>Great pics and great info!
>>-----
>>Mike
>>
>>7.13 BRB
>>1.2 Spotted Python
>>1.0 Cal. King

Neat pictures! I like the Cow Shark one.
-----
Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

I wonder if people who run those tours where they tow a board that looks like a seal to lure whites into breaching remove the teeth from the boards and sell them.
Mike

I sure hope not. I'm not sure, but it's probably not legal to do so. If not, it should be! That's the great thing about collecting *fossil* teeth - no sharks are harmed!

Thanks,
Ed

>>I wonder if people who run those tours where they tow a board that looks like a seal to lure whites into breaching remove the teeth from the boards and sell them.
>>Mike

Given that sharks are constantly losing and replacing their teeth, I don't know that I'd think of them as being harmed by it. That said, I think the fossil ones look cooler anyway, and I'm not sure how I feel about *intentionally* yanking teeth out of any animal for profit.
-----
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Sure they are harmed by it. Maybe not the individual that left the tooth in the board, but the species is hurt. There are a lot of people out there who will pay a pretty penny for modern GW teeth, and supplying that demand, imo, is not appropriate with a threatened/enandgered species.

I totally agree, though, the fossil teeth are much more interesting!

Thanks,
Ed

>>Given that sharks are constantly losing and replacing their teeth, I don't know that I'd think of them as being harmed by it. That said, I think the fossil ones look cooler anyway, and I'm not sure how I feel about *intentionally* yanking teeth out of any animal for profit.
>>-----
>>0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
>>0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Oh, fair enough; I wasn't thinking of the potential for far-reaching consequences, but rather the individual animals, which can of course lose one or many teeth and not significantly notice. Stepping back and taking a wider view makes the problem obvious.
-----
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

... if we could constantly generate new teeth! Well, I guess it wouldn't be so good if you're a dentist. But for the rest of us...

Thanks,
Ed

>>Oh, fair enough; I wasn't thinking of the potential for far-reaching consequences, but rather the individual animals, which can of course lose one or many teeth and not significantly notice. Stepping back and taking a wider view makes the problem obvious.
>>-----
>>0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
>>0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Bad for dentists, perhaps, but GREAT for orthodontists! I mean, just think about it: if your first set are crooked, why would the second, third, etc, come in straight?
-----
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

thats pretty cool... you said you found that one int the woods??? how does that happen.

i have to know something here, how in the world does one look at one of those and know the species it cam from and how long ago that was???

do you scuba dive Ed?
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Saphira)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--Brazilian rainbow boas
2 or 3 more? maybe a breeding trio or two pair
-- something for the wifey... my list got to big...

I found it in a creek (in the woods.) Many creeks near the coast actually used to be ocean, where teeth dropped to the bottom and fossilized. Fast forward millions of years, and creeks that cut into/through the fossil layers expose the fossils. That nice one I found must have recently been exposed out of the formation/ground. (They get water worn after a while.)

Your questions are good. The first one can be answered easily... or not so easily. Many sharks have very unique teeth, so id is easy for those. Also, if you know the age of the fossil formation(s) where the tooth is found, that helps. The only way to know that is to look it up somewhere. There are geological publications. It's something you pick up along the way. Having said all that, there are species that have teeth that look very similar, and are difficult, if not impossible, to identify precisely.

I put a deposit down at a local scuba shop to take lessons. Unfortunately, that was 2 years ago, and I haven't followed through on that yet. Do you dive?

Thanks,
Ed

>>thats pretty cool... you said you found that one int the woods??? how does that happen.
>>
>>i have to know something here, how in the world does one look at one of those and know the species it cam from and how long ago that was???
>>
>>do you scuba dive Ed?
>>-----
>>-Stephen-
>>
>>0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
>>1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
>>1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
>>0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
>>0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)
>>0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Saphira)
>>
>>hopeful for not to distant future:
>>--Brazilian rainbow boas
>> 2 or 3 more? maybe a breeding trio or two pair
>>-- something for the wifey... my list got to big...

thats wild, yeah i guess atfer taking a second look i can see that a few do look quite different neat stuff.

i took the PADI course with my cousin and i got certified but he did not. that was 6 years ago and i have been once. we where supposed to do all that together but since he didnt get certified i never ended up going. i loved it for sure and if i ever move back to the east coast i will look into it again. oddly enough there is a dive school here in ABQ but its far more expensive and its not PADI i would rather stick with that. PADI is a bigger company than the one this school offers anyways
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Saphira)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--Brazilian rainbow boas
2 or 3 more? maybe a breeding trio or two pair
-- something for the wifey... my list got to big...

>>My other major hobby is collecting shark teeth. It's a great hobby that never gets boring. (And I get bored easily!) I enjoy it not only because of the variety and beauty of the teeth, but it is quite educational if you want it to be. Collecting teeth/fossils encompasses geology, paleontology, geography, taxonomy, etc., which is fun for a nerd like me. Here a few pics that touch the tip of the iceberg. Thanks for looking.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Ed
>>
>>
>>Here's a picture that shows the size range fossil shark teeth. The tiny spot on the center of the big tooth is a
>>little tooth from a Cat shark. The big tooth is a "Holy Grail" type of tooth for collectors, it's a 6" megalodon
>>tooth from Aurora, NC. There is a phosphate mine in Aurora where giant excavators dig up the fossil layers to
>>get to the phosphate, which is deep down in the ground. The big tooth is 2 to 5 Million Years old, the small one
>>probably about 10 MYO.
>>
>>
>>Here's a neat tooth from the lower jaw of an extinct Cow shark. A few types of cow shark exist today, they are
>>also called 6 gilled and 7 gilled sharks. Their teeth are unique, and also vary in shape/size depending on tooth
>>position. This one was found in the Atacama Desert, Chile, South America, and is about 2-5 MYO.
>>
>>
>>
>>This one I found myself in a creek in eastern NC. And yes, I screamed like a little girl when I found it. (Good thing I was in the middle of the woods!) It's a Great White (C. carcharias) tooth. (Same species as the extant Great White.) A little over 2 1/4" long, and less than 2 MYO.
>>
>>
>>
>>Here's one of my favorites, it's a 5" red/orange/brown megalodon from Meherrin River, NC. (Most megalodon teeth you see are
>>found in coastal rivers.)
>>
>>
>>This is a really colorful tooth from an extinct type of mako shark. It was found in Bakersfield, California. (about 10 MYO)
>>
-----
=========================================================
Roberts Realm Of Reptile Research
=========================================================
Thanks,

I opened my mouth and out flowed a melody black.