Jaclyn Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 I recently moved to Florida from New Jersey this past July and immediately got interested in shark teeth after hearing that you can find them on beaches down here. This isn't really a hunting trip, but more like what I've accumulated just by taking walks on 2 of our local beaches. I thought I'd share some of my finds with you guys and see what you more experienced fossil hunters thought! Horse tooth that I pulled out of water in Sebastian, I don't know the species so if anyone has any idea please let me know! Some sort of tooth I believe, possibly another horse tooth? Any ideas on what it could be would be great! Also found in the water in Sebastian. I left the house one day only to return and find out that my mom had put it in bleach to try to clean it and it broke into 5 pieces. Needless to say some superglue was needed to try repair it! This is the biggest shark tooth that I've found to date. It's a little bit over 1 inch and was found in a shell deposit washed up on a beach in Sebastian. I have no idea as to what species it could be because it's so worn, so any serrations that were once there are now gone. I was thinking Great White, but again that's just a guess. Any ideas on what species it could be? This tooth was found in the sand on a beach in Vero Beach. It has small serrations and is pretty sharp. Does anyone know what species this one could be too? I've been trying to do research on fossilized shark teeth to be able to identify them better but at this point they all kind of look pretty similar to me! This is everything that i've collected from Vero Beach and Sebastian over the course of a few months. It's not much, but I still love the thrill of finding even one tooth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 I left the house one day only to return and find out that my mom had put it in bleach to try to clean it and it broke into 5 pieces. Needless to say some superglue was needed to try repair it! If moms running out of things to clean, send her to my house. hehehe Nice Finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOROPUS Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Wow! Great finds! First pic: Horse molar Second: Ground Sloth tooth Thirt: Meg Tooth Next pics: I`m not an expert on shark teeth! Let`s see what others say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharks of SC Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 The smaller tooth is from a lemon shark, I believe. Great finds, by the way. CBK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 The first tooth is Equus sp. The second tooth is sloth, likely Paramylodon harlani. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 More great finds! Congratulations Jaclyn! Are you sure you're new to this??? You may try looking HERE for help with the shark tooth Id's. Thanks for sharing with us! Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Good finds, Jaclyn! You're off to a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 It's important that (most) fossils never be re-wet with water after they've dried -- they may swell and split along invisible cracks. This is a particular problem with sloth teeth because they have no enamel to bind them together - it's all dentin. Sloth teeth should be consolidated with plastic/acetone solution to preserve them. (Do a search for "consolidant" or "preserving bone" on this forum.) Read about Paramylodon teeth here: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/gallery/image/11568-giant-ground-sloth/ http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaclyn Posted December 10, 2010 Author Share Posted December 10, 2010 Thanks for the help everyone! I had no idea that was a sloth tooth! And thanks for helping ID those shark teeth too! bdevey, I'll be sure to send her over to your house to clean while we can go fossil hunting Fossildude19, thanks for the great resource on shark teeth! And I'm POSITIVE I'm very new to this but thanks to your kind comments you already have me feeling like a pro! Harry Pristis (great name by the way!), I will definitely look into preserving that tooth! I've already noticed that every time I handle it there seems to be little specks of it that come off, so that's definitely something that needs to be done! Can this consolidation/preserving be done on all fossils, or should it be limited to teeth with no enamel such as sloth teeth? Once again, you have all been such a terrific help and I'm quickly falling in love with this forum and fossils! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serack Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Hey, just saw this post. I was born and raised in Ft. Pierce, just south of where you are now. My Cousin has a bunch of teeth she has found on the beach in Vero too, but I've never gotten a chance to hunt there. Maybe when I'm in town over Christmas, you would be willing to show me where you had such good luck? I might even bring my sifter. Here is an article about one of the most amazing fossil/artifact finds ever which was found right there in Vero. It's a Wooly Mammoth bone with a carving of a mammoth on it. If it's authentic, some are calling it one of the most significant American prehistoric artifacts ever. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090610-oldest-art-mammoth-picture.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaclyn Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 Hey, just saw this post. I was born and raised in Ft. Pierce, just south of where you are now. My Cousin has a bunch of teeth she has found on the beach in Vero too, but I've never gotten a chance to hunt there. Maybe when I'm in town over Christmas, you would be willing to show me where you had such good luck? I might even bring my sifter. Here is an article about one of the most amazing fossil/artifact finds ever which was found right there in Vero. It's a Wooly Mammoth bone with a carving of a mammoth on it. If it's authentic, some are calling it one of the most significant American prehistoric artifacts ever. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090610-oldest-art-mammoth-picture.html I'll be back in New Jersey for Christmas, I leave this Wednesday and get back the first week of January so if you're still around I'd love to meet up and show you in person. But I'll pm you now to let you know exactly where it is so you can still go even if i'm not around. And that's a great article on the mammoth bone! I'd heard about it before but never seen a picture of what the actual carving looks like! Thanks for a great read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vero Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Hi Jaclyn, Welcome to FL! I'm a Vero Beach resident and along with my wife, we are avid beachcombers/metal detectorists (always hoping to find some of the 1715 Plate Fleet treasure!). We have been on the lookout for shark teeth, but w/o success. Would you be willing to share the location of your find(s)? Regards, Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaclyn Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Hi Brett, I moved back to NJ a couple of months ago so I can't really say how well the shark teeth have been turning up in Vero lately but I'll gladly tell you where I had been hunting. Most of my bigger finds (horse tooth, sloth tooth, some bigger shark teeth, and a tapir tooth) came from the Sebastian Inlet. If you're facing the water, I used to search along the left of the fishing jetty in a little cove by the rocks. Things didn't seem to wash up there but I would get in the water see black things on the bottom, pick them up and sometimes I'd get lucky and it would be a fossil. That's how I found the horse, sloth, and tapir teeth. I haven't had much luck at the Sebastian Inlet in nearly a year though so it's pretty much hit or miss. As for Vero Beach, most of my teeth came from a private beach access point for Island Club (where I used to live). It's about a mile before the Disney Resort. I've also found many teeth by the Disney resort too so that stretch of land seemed to work well for me. You do have to work to find the teeth though. I've found that the best way for me to find shark teeth was by finding little wash ups by the water's edge (they don't need to be big wash ups to find teeth, even little bits of broken shells will do) and I turn by back to the ocean and as the water recedes I would quickly look for teeth mixed in with the bits of shells before the next wave would come up. It took some practice but I was able to get to the point where I could find about 15 teeth within an hour on any given day. I've also found teeth higher up on the beach in wash ups but I've found that looking in the water worked better for me because the teeth are shiny and easier to spot when they're wet. Hopefully this helps & if you have any other questions, just ask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Awesome finds, especially the sloth tooth. Your bigger sharks tooth is definitely a worn megalodon.The smaller tooth, I do not believe is a lemon shark; but a lower bull shark. The tooth is serrated along the crown, lemons are only serrated along the crown shoulders, not down the crown. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vero Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Wow, thanks so much for the information and insight on the technique! We spend as much time as possible fossil hunting, metal detecting, and beach combing. Of course, it helps to be retired! We like going to Sebastian Inlet, so will check that area out as well as along the beach by Disney. That beach is also reported to be a good stretch to detect. Take care! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaclyn Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 @sixgill pete, Thanks for the insight! I really appreciate it! & No problem, Brett! I've also found some incredible sea glass at the Sebastian Inlet by the jetty too if that interests you. I hope that you find some great stuff, let me know how those spots work out for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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