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Sharks teeth in south Alabama


J Campbell

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Looking for some good places to hunt sharks teeth in Covington or Conecuh county Alabama.

We have found a few at Point A dam but looking for some more good places. It is usually myself my wife and seven year old son and sometimes my niece. We never leave any trash and will pick up any trash we find when we get there.

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Cannot help you with places in Alabama but welcome to the forum.

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

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Cool finds. You find a lot of teeth over there?

Luck is the most important skill of a fossil diver.

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From what I've heard Point A dam is probably the best place to find shark teeth in Alabama. Years ago, a friend sent me teeth from a site along Little Stave Creek (teeth about the same age, Middle Eocene). You'd have to research that. You could also look for sites where the Selma Chalk (Late Cretaceous) is exposed. I have heard of teeth from around Sheffield.

Looking for some good places to hunt sharks teeth in Covington or Conecuh county Alabama.
We have found a few at Point A dam but looking for some more good places. It is usually myself my wife and seven year old son and sometimes my niece. We never leave any trash and will pick up any trash we find when we get there.

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I recall hearing that the Little Stave Creek site is on private property and is not open for collecting. Not 100% sure, but that is what I was told. Also, it's outside the area J Campbell mentioned.

Stream gravels in the "black belt" can produce impressive amounts of shark teeth, which erode from the Mooreville Chalk and Tombigbee Sand member of the Eutaw Formation. You would have to contact the land owner and get permission to hunt, of course. Teeth can be found in outcrops of the Selma Group (which includes the Mooreville) but they are much sparser than in the stream gravels. On the other hand they are not abraded, and have nice brown enamel and whitish roots, whereas teeth from the streams are black, likely due to tannins in the water. There is a commercial (pay to collect) site called "shark tooth creek" in Aliceville that had a lot of Cretaceous teeth, but I suspect these days the owner salts the creek with teeth bought in bulk from Venice Beach or a similar source, resulting in an unnatural mix of Cretaceous and Miocene species. Fun for kids/families who just want to find a tooth of their own, but confusing for people who have a serious interest in fossils.

Don

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Yes, a lot of sites that were once wide open are now owned by people that don't want strangers wandering/digging around. I got the impression that Little Stave Creek was not very productive for shark teeth. I think there's a technical article about the mollusks.

A friend used to collect the Tombigbee Sand in Mississippi somewhere along its namesake.

I recall hearing that the Little Stave Creek site is on private property and is not open for collecting. Not 100% sure, but that is what I was told. Also, it's outside the area J Campbell mentioned.

Stream gravels in the "black belt" can produce impressive amounts of shark teeth, which erode from the Mooreville Chalk and Tombigbee Sand member of the Eutaw Formation. You would have to contact the land owner and get permission to hunt, of course. Teeth can be found in outcrops of the Selma Group (which includes the Mooreville) but they are much sparser than in the stream gravels. On the other hand they are not abraded, and have nice brown enamel and whitish roots, whereas teeth from the streams are black, likely due to tannins in the water. There is a commercial (pay to collect) site called "shark tooth creek" in Aliceville that had a lot of Cretaceous teeth, but I suspect these days the owner salts the creek with teeth bought in bulk from Venice Beach or a similar source, resulting in an unnatural mix of Cretaceous and Miocene species. Fun for kids/families who just want to find a tooth of their own, but confusing for people who have a serious interest in fossils.

Don

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  • 1 month later...

I found about a dozen or so sharkteeth when we went to the dam in about an hour, but later found out the I should put a piece of screen in my sifter. I'm going back in the next week or so.

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