A couple nicer teeth from my hunts in Cape Town (South Africa) over Christmas.

[Pamar]

Good day to everyone! 

Thought I’d share some the teeth found on Milnerton and Big Bay beach here in South Africa. Any help identifying would be appreciated - I’m still relatively new so the more worn and broken teeth have me clueless. 

 

More pictures to follow!

[Pamar]

Some close ups of the nicer Great whites:

 

 

[Pamar]

And a Cosmopolitodus hastalis:

 

[indominus rex]

Awesome Cape Town teeth! I was at Big Bay Beach when I was in Cape Town, didn’t have much luck, only found a few whale bones. Thanks for sharing the finds.

[Pamar]

Just now, indominus rex said:

Awesome Cape Town teeth! I was at Big Bay Beach when I was in Cape Town, didn’t have much luck, only found a few whale bones. Thanks for sharing the finds.

It can be a bit of a hit or miss at the beach - but I never complain about some nicer mammal bones - thanks for the reply!

[Pamar]

And the tip of a megalodon  :

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nice finds! 

Thank you for sharing. 

[jcbshark]

Nice finds, GW's are one of my personal favorites to find

[caldigger]

1 hour ago, jcbshark said:

Nice finds, GW's are one of my personal favorites to find

Mine also!   Unfortunately around this area, they don't tend to come out of the ground undamaged too often.

[Pamar]

4 minutes ago, caldigger said:

Mine also!   Unfortunately around this area, they don't tend to come out of the ground undamaged too often.

It’s largely the same here the seas in Cape Town are very rough which makes finding complete GWs quite rare!

[ynot]

Nice finds.

Thanks for sharing.

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

On 1/3/2019 at 4:32 AM, Pamar said:

And the tip of a megalodon  :

They’re tempting you into going back! Nice finds! 

[caldigger]

36 minutes ago, UtahFossilHunter said:

They’re tempting you into going back! Nice finds! 

Ya, we in the fossil hunting world call that a "teaser".  

[Pamar]

5 hours ago, UtahFossilHunter said:

They’re tempting you into going back! Nice finds! 

They are indeed! Thanks 

[Fossildude19]

 

@Pamar

Were these teeth collected legally?  

SOUTH AFRICAN FOSSIL LAWS

 

[Pamar]

4 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

@Pamar

Were these teeth collected legally?  

SOUTH AFRICAN FOSSIL LAWS

 

All in-situ fossil collected in loose sediment  not from a national park are allowed to be collected (this means only a few beaches qualify).

here’s another post for reference. At any given time there are 5+ people scouring the beach looking for teeth and you can find people selling them from their storefronts all over Cape Town if finding them proves difficult.

[Fossildude19]

6 hours ago, Pamar said:

All in-situ fossil collected in loose sediment  not from a national park are allowed to be collected (this means only a few beaches qualify).

here’s another post for reference. At any given time there are 5+ people scouring the beach looking for teeth and you can find people selling them from their storefronts all over Cape Town if finding them proves difficult.

 

What I am not seeing though,  is any law that specifically exempts beach fossils.

 

za_natheritagresources1999_engorof (1).pdf

 

This seems pretty clear to me as stated here: 

 

"Synopsis; South Africa has one of the most restrictive and well defined fossil laws of any country. All fossils including and not limited to; micro fossils, plants, invertebrates and vertebrates must be collected under an approved permit and become property of the state. Application for export must be made through the SAHRA and customs, and only fossils exported for study or display in a museum or university will be granted export forms. Any South African fossil material available for sale on eBay or other internet sites, or offered for sale to dealers and collectors should be questioned and avoided.

 

The legislation protecting fossils is embodied in the National Heritage Resources Act (Act No.25 of 1999) which came into effect on 1 April 2000. The Act states that no person may destroy, damage, alter, deface, disturb, excavate, remove from its original position, collect or own, trade in or sell, export or attempt to export from South Africa, any fossil without a permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). A person found guilty of breaking the law is liable for a fine and several years imprisonment, or both. Customs officials are aware of the law and have confiscated fossils when attempts have been made to export them without permission in the past." 

 

 Because a law is not strictly enforced, that does not make breaking that law any less illegal.  

 

I found this post on a european fossil forum interesting.  Especially where he mentions:

" So Fossil Shark Teeth take a back seat but I try to put a Collection together despite the possibility that one Day they might come to take it away."

 

It would appear that many people there flaunt the laws. That doesn't make it any less illegal, or unethical. 

I personally wouldn't want to be in possession of such fossils, should the Government decide to crack down, and strengthen enforcement.   

 

[Pamar]

3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

What I am not seeing though,  is any law that specifically exempts beach fossils.

 

za_natheritagresources1999_engorof (1).pdf

 

This seems pretty clear to me as stated here: 

 

"Synopsis; South Africa has one of the most restrictive and well defined fossil laws of any country. All fossils including and not limited to; micro fossils, plants, invertebrates and vertebrates must be collected under an approved permit and become property of the state. Application for export must be made through the SAHRA and customs, and only fossils exported for study or display in a museum or university will be granted export forms. Any South African fossil material available for sale on online or other internet sites, or offered for sale to dealers and collectors should be questioned and avoided.

 

The legislation protecting fossils is embodied in the National Heritage Resources Act (Act No.25 of 1999) which came into effect on 1 April 2000. The Act states that no person may destroy, damage, alter, deface, disturb, excavate, remove from its original position, collect or own, trade in or sell, export or attempt to export from South Africa, any fossil without a permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). A person found guilty of breaking the law is liable for a fine and several years imprisonment, or both. Customs officials are aware of the law and have confiscated fossils when attempts have been made to export them without permission in the past." 

 

 Because a law is not strictly enforced, that does not make breaking that law any less illegal.  

 

I found this post on a european fossil forum interesting.  Especially where he mentions:

" So Fossil Shark Teeth take a back seat but I try to put a Collection together despite the possibility that one Day they might come to take it away."

 

It would appear that many people there flaunt the laws. That doesn't make it any less illegal, or unethical. 

I personally wouldn't want to be in possession of such fossils, should the Government decide to crack down, and strengthen enforcement.   

 

If you would like to contact SAHRA to clarifythe law regarding the teeth found in loose sediment, you are more than welcome to. The official I spoke to explained that as the fossils have been naturally removed from their “original position” you are allowed to take them - that being said it is illegal to dig or sift the beach for teeth - you can only collect those washed up on the surface.

[Fossildude19]

15 minutes ago, Pamar said:

If you would like to contact SAHRA to clarify the law regarding the teeth found in loose sediment, you are more than welcome to. The official I spoke to explained that as the fossils have been naturally removed from their “original position” you are allowed to take them - that being said it is illegal to dig or sift the beach for teeth - you can only collect those washed up on the surface.

 

I'm not in South Africa, so I really have no need to contact the authorities.  

I am merely saying that I do not see anywhere in the law (in writing) that makes any kind of exemption for beach finds. 

In lieu of that evidence, one must assume that one official's word is not law, and that the Law as published means NO Collecting, No Exporting, without the required permits.

They may not feel it is worthwhile to enforce the law. Our issue here is that there is no clear law presented stating that beach finds are OK to collect and export. 

 

This is a privately owned, publicly viewed website, and we must be careful of what we publish. 

 

Our stance as stated in the Forum Rules and Community Standards states: 

"Prohibited on The Fossil Forum, ...  ...  ,illegal acts and expressing disregard for the law, ... "

 

We are viewed by thousands of people every day. We do not want to spread hearsay information as fact, or perpetuate illegal or unethical behavior.  

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:

It is up to each individual collector to find out for themselves what the laws are regarding fossil hunting, no matter where they are.  

[JohnJ]

If I was in South Africa, I would want a copy of an email from the proper officials authorizing my collection activity.  Conversations are hard to substantiate.