sharks teeth

[diverrick]

I was reading here about folks finding sharks teeth while diving. How exactly does one "find" sharks teeth? Is it like panning for gold, with a sieve, or just happenstance that you run across one?

 

[Scubaroo]

I went to Venice Beach - you can just pick them up off the bottom - find a patch of gravel, and just hover and look. Good luck finding a megalodon tooth though. All of the teeth I found were 1" or so in length.

 

[ReefGuy]

I've found a 3" meg tooth and half of a 5" just sitting there on the top. I never dig, and have accumulated over 1000 teeth this summer.

 

[NaCL H2O Boy]

diverrick once bubbled...
I was reading here about folks finding sharks teeth while diving. How exactly does one "find" sharks teeth? Is it like panning for gold, with a sieve, or just happenstance that you run across one?

Depending on where you dive, you can see tons of nice teeth sitting right on top of rocks/shells/etc. Many of these are of the same size and quality that you would find on a standard souvenier necklace. The megs do require some digging. Ive' been told that when you hover, just grab anything that has a triangular shape. Many times, a meg is covered with a light layer of silt/sand or hidden in some vegetation.

:micro:

 

[100days-a-year]

Where I dive you can drift in the current and pick them off the bottom but generally they will have a lot of growth and wear.The best ones I have are always found in sand/gravel beds on a limestone bottomed river.You can fan for them or dig but glass and other debris makes fanning the best choice.The current can run over 2kts which blows the silt away but makes diving interesting,as if 6" yes " visibility wasn't already fun.

 

[CBulla]

I'm cursed for finding megs, but I have found a wide variety of fossil shark teeth (including a snaggle tooth approx 10-15 million years old) and mammal bones (whale and manattee). So far, I have not had to dig for anything, though I have found that mixing meathods of searching yeilds the best results. Sometimes I cheat and take a collendar with me to. 98% is on the surface readily visible.

 

[Hoya97]

Hi,

My wife and I have dove Venice a number of times - usually with Southwestern Dive Center. We have collected a number of teeth that are necklace sized. The only problem with them are that they are pretty dull in luster. I have seen necklaces where the tooth itself is quite shiney and was wondering about the proper way to shine it up. Does any one have any suggestions or perhaps an instructional web site on how to do it?

Also, while Southwestern is very good and I love diving with them, so does everyone else. Does anyone have any suggestions for other dive operations in the Venice area that is comperable with Southwestern in service? Would just like to have other options.

Thanks a whole bunch!

 

[CBulla]

Hoya97 once bubbled...
Hi,

My wife and I have dove Venice a number of times - usually with Southwestern Dive Center. We have collected a number of teeth that are necklace sized. The only problem with them are that they are pretty dull in luster. I have seen necklaces where the tooth itself is quite shiney and was wondering about the proper way to shine it up. Does any one have any suggestions or perhaps an instructional web site on how to do it?

Also, while Southwestern is very good and I love diving with them, so does everyone else. Does anyone have any suggestions for other dive operations in the Venice area that is comperable with Southwestern in service? Would just like to have other options.

Thanks a whole bunch!

Beach dive! Thats what most of us do. Its only about 100 yards to the first area you can really start finding teeth.

Shining the teeth... never much thought about it. I guess you could use a similar technique for shining bone or horn, which is to use jewlers rouge.. or #4 mcguires wax. I've seen people spray stuff with clear coat as well, that tends to seal it up and give a little shine.

 

[Hoya97]

Hi again,

We tried the city beach - near the showers and restroom area. Wasn't all that productive. Saw a number of tiny (less than an inch) teeth, but nothing to jump up and down about. Do you know of different locations other than the city beach? Our depth was 15-20 feet.

Thanks

 

[CBulla]

Head south towards the condos, but not as far as the pier.