How to find shark teeth:

The locals seem to have a knack for spotting shark teeth on the beach, many of whom keep jars full of teeth they have found over the years.  Having recently moved to the beach, I wanted to acquire some of the skills of the natives, including fishing, surfing and finding shark teeth.  After walking with a local who stopped several times to pick up shark teeth during our conversation, I decided that it shouldn’t be too difficult. 

After taking 10-20 walks with my dog, while constantly looking down, I hadn’t found a single tooth.  While having no formal training beyond high school in either biology or physics, I believe in the scientific method and wanted to solve the mystery of why locals could find teeth so easily.  The following lessons reflect what I have learned, observed, or hypothesized from taking daily walks on the beach.

Lesson 1

What do sharks teeth look like?  I have never seen an actual fresh white shark tooth on the beach, but have found many fossilized sharks teeth.  

Color – for fossilized shark teeth, the color of the teeth will depend upon the materials in which the original teeth were buried.  I have seen pictures of teeth fossils ranging in color from that of very light sand, to brown or gray, to pitch black.  In Myrtle Beach, the teeth that turn up are largely pitch black.  In fact, when wet, they generally have a shine to them, almost like wet black spray paint.  For the Myrtle Beach area, color may be the most important factor to target.     

Shape – Based on the movie Jaws, the cartoon character Mister Jaw, and what I learned from billboards, I began searching for triangle shaped objects.  It turns out that not all teeth are shaped like triangles.  In fact, most teeth I have found are not neatly triangular in profile.  Some internet research quickly revealed that the different shapes of teeth reflect different species of shark.  Perhaps more importantly, it is common for a portion of the gum to be attached to the teeth, which, depending on how much gum is there, can give the tooth a very odd and non-triangular outline.

Good Luck.  More lessons will follow soon.

"Buddy" R. Canis