Embedded Files
The movie Jaws brought sharks into the forefront of our present day psyche and not in a positive light. Baaa-dump!... Baaa-dump! (I think that is the theme song) They have become a symbol of fear that is constantly fed by the media. So, in a moment I’ll give you something to really be scared of - if you were alive over a million years ago that is.
I think sharks are awesome. In reality they are an important factor in the health and balance of the world’s oceans. These top predators were around long before humans and there is proof in these fossils. (By the way, despite what some people think; man is not top dog unless he’s got guns and stuff.) There are only a few places in the world to find prehistoric shark’s teeth and Venice Beach, Florida contains one of the largest deposits. These fossilized teeth can be found in just 18 feet of water a hundred feet or so from the beach. Some have been found by sifting thru the sand at the shoreline. This is quite exciting for the modern day amateur Indiana Jones.
In this photo, starting from the left: Fossilized White Shark tooth from a 12 ½ foot shark. Top middle: Tiger Shark. Bottom Middle: Lemon Shark. Right top: Could be a Dusky or Black Tip Shark. Right bottom: Sand Shark.
These fossils could be anywhere from 2 to 40 million years old according to expert scientists of which of am not. The ages are based on my research and I suggest if this subject fascinates you then you do further research as well. For me, I think the fossils are cool and make for interesting conversation when I show them to others.
In the olden, olden, olden days or even earlier, there were a lot more sharks around and most were a whole lot bigger than even the largest Great White Shark found today. I think the 25 foot shark from “Jaws” would feel like a sardine if he came upon one of these mega-monsters. Fossilized teeth from the extinct Giant White Shark (Carcharocles Megladon) up to 6 inches in length have been found in these waters and that would have come from the jaw of a shark 50 feet or larger. The largest fossil found anywhere was about 7 inches and would have belonged to a 60 footer. Now is that scary or what? I am pretty sure that if man had been around then, beach resorts would not have been very popular and sales of leopard skin bikinis would have been practically non-existent.
In this photo, starting from the left, are teeth from a Mako Shark that my wife found in Venice while we were scuba diving; two teeth from a modern day Caribbean Reef Shark that we recovered from a shark dive in Walkers Cay, Bahamas; and a 4 inch fossil from a Giant White Shark (estimated size would have been about 40 feet) that I purchased from a fossil show. The penny and the quarter can give you a pretty good idea of scale. I wish the one my wife found had been a larger tooth because that would have been a rare find and worth several hundred dollars. When I purchased the 4 inch specimen over twenty five years ago, I only spent $50.00 – a good investment, better than the hundred Beanie-Babies. However, the 1.25 inch Mako Shark tooth was a good find. That would have come from a 12 foot shark. The rule of thumb for sizing a shark from its teeth is for every inch of tooth there is 10 feet of shark. In about 3 hours of scuba diving we found three large teeth and dozens of smaller teeth – time well spent under water.
Venice Beach is a quaint seaside town on the west coast of Florida below Sarasota. When we were there, parking at the beach was free, a rarity in Florida, but you have to get there early. For you scuba divers, there are several dive shops in the area for renting equipment. Water “vis” (scuba term) can sometimes be poor. We followed the sandy bottom out about 75-100 feet until we found a patch of rubble consisting of ground up shell and stone. This 15-18 foot depth is where we found most of the teeth. Don’t get freaked out from the seaweed that is scattered about. If you are just a beach comber, find a sifter and try your luck in the sand. Locals say that new batches of teeth are stirred up after a storm or hurricane. I suggest you avoid the area during a hurricane.
Here is a cleaver illustration to show the scale of a 60 foot shark, 12 foot shark and a 6 foot shark (which is the average size of most sharks today) compared to a human and the average size car. Maybe the Megladon Shark became extinct because it ran out of smaller things to eat. I wonder how many Hum-Vees it could eat?
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse