Below is a list containing some of the species of shark teeth you might encounter when combing Folly Beach and their common attributes.
How to identify Shark Teeth
Shark’s teeth are replaced continuously and they can shed thousands of teeth during a lifetime so both shark tooth seekers and shark tooth fairies stay pretty busy. Once you’ve stockpiled your finds it’s time to don your Sherlock’s tweed cap and conduct some shark tooth sleuthing to identify distinctions that will help you determine the species. Below is a list containing some of the species of shark teeth you might encounter when combing Folly Beach and their common attributes.
Tiger Shark
Short, deeply-notched blades are the defining characteristic of a tiger shark, which gets its big cat moniker from the dark vertical stripes on its body. The shoulders of the tooth blades also feature sharp serrations the predator uses to crack the shells of clams and sea turtles. Its teeth typically range in the area of 1 inch, but they can occasionally grow to 1.5-2 inches.
Bull Shark
Having earned a reputation as one of the world’s most aggressive sharks, bull shark’s teeth have tapering serrations and flat and broad blades that narrow toward the top. They are usually one inch long or shorter, and serrations are found along the entire blade, but become increasingly smaller as they go down the blade. Bull sharks are one of the most likely species to attack humans unprovoked, and they are even known to swim into rivers and tributaries.
Lemon Shark
Lemon sharks look nothing like the mouth-puckering fruit in body shape, but they are bright yellow in color, which is where they derive their name. Lemon shark’s teeth are distinguished from other sharks by their lack of serrations and slightly angled, smaller blades. Their teeth are generally about 0.75 inches long. These sharks prefer shallower waters and are often found near coastlines and islands.
Sand Tiger Shark
Narrowness and a long crown are the most salient features of sand tiger shark’s teeth. They don’t have serrations along the blade and the teeth cusps are very high and curved. Its teeth usually measure one inch in length. Sand tigers are big and deliberate fish with a flattened, conical snot, but despite their hulking size they are generally not a threat to humans unless provoked.
Great White Shark
If you uncover a broad and flat tooth that is triangular in shape with coarse serrations along the blade, you may have stumbled upon part of the former jaw of ‘Jaws.’ And there’s no safer introduction to a 1.5-2.5-inch long Great White’s tooth than when it’s lying on the beach separated from the mouth of the largest predatory fish on earth, which can grow to 15 feet on average.
Megalodon
Although Great Whites are massive, Megalodons dwarfed them by comparison, with an average length of 33 feet and reaching up to 60 plus feet, they are the largest shark ever documented. This extinct species that inhabited the oceans millions of years ago is a rarer find, but shark hunters do occasionally pluck them from the Folly sand. Size is the prominent indicator that a tooth is a Megalodon, as these giants typically range from 3.5-7 inches long. And as a fossilized tooth it will appear much darker in color than more recent finds.
FAQs
One of the best ways to identify shark's teeth is to look for certain angles and shapes in the sand. The fossilized teeth are jet black and triangular, and have an almost polished look to them. When the sun hits them just right they gleam in the sand.
How do you identify a shark tooth in South Carolina? ›
No special equipment beyond your eyes and hands is required, but a sifter makes a nifty tool for separating sand from debris. As you do so, keep your eyes peeled for triangular-shaped pieces that are jet black—a characteristic of fossilized shark teeth though “younger” teeth may be lighter-hued.
How do I know what kind of shark teeth I have? ›
If you have a shark tooth that's flat and in the shape of a wide triangle, then you may have a white shark tooth on your hands. There should be coarse serrations along the blade of the tooth and it should also be about 1.5–2.5 inches (3.8–6.4 cm) long. Identify tiger shark teeth by their short blades.
What to look for when looking for shark teeth on beach? ›
Scan shell piles and check around the strand line
“The ocean sorts things by size and density,” Gale says, and it will collect similar items and deposit them on the shore together. Therefore, your best chance of finding a fossil is in piles of shell or gravel, and if you've found one, there are likely more.
Where is the best place to find shark teeth in Folly Beach? ›
Best Places for Shark Tooth Hunting in Charleston
If you're having lunch on Folly Beach and find yourself near the pier during low tide, be sure to look down while you're walking! The area around the pier is another great spot for finding beach fossils.
Where is the best place to find shark teeth at Folly Beach? ›
If you want to find shark teeth in the main public beach area around the pier, your best bet is to go early in the morning. The southern tip of the island (in Folly Beach County Park) and the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve on the northern tip are good places to look as well.
Can you find Megalodon teeth at Folly Beach? ›
The most common teeth are from bull sharks, lemon sharks, sand tiger sharks, and great white sharks, although Megalodon fragments can occasionally be found.
Why does Folly Beach have so many shark teeth? ›
Gale said that the proliferation of shark's teeth on Folly Beach is due to a beach renourishment in 2014 that brought gravely, sediment sand to the shoreline for erosion control. The next renourishment may bury the existing fossils so now is a good time to hunt.
How old is a shark tooth if it is black? ›
Shark teeth buried in sediments absorb surrounding minerals, turning them from a normal whitish tooth color to a deeper color, usually black, gray, or tan. The fossilization process takes at least 10,000 years, although some fossil shark's teeth are millions of years old!
What are the 4 types of shark teeth? ›
There are four basic types of shark teeth.
- Pointed lower teeth with serrated triangular upper teeth. Great white sharks have upper teeth with tiny serrations along their edges. ...
- Needle-like teeth. A shortfin mako shark head from our spirit collection. ...
- Dense flattened teeth. ...
- Non-functional teeth.
Needle. A long, pointy tooth is similar to the tines of a fork. This is a common tooth shape in sharks that need to grasp fast-moving or slippery meals such as stingrays, squid and fish.
What is the layout of shark teeth? ›
Many sharks have more than one row of teeth, and the lower teeth are pointed, while the upper rows of teeth are triangular shaped. These triangular shaped teeth are specially designed to kill and eat prey. Some sharks can actually have as many as 15 rows of teeth in each jaw!
What is the best tool for finding shark teeth? ›
The Shark Tooth Sifter was created to make it easier to find sharks teeth, sea shells, sea glass, and other ocean treasures. It is designed specifically for beachcombing, and contains modifications. The sifter includes a larger basket, as well as a wider sifting area.
What is the best time to find shark teeth? ›
While the best time to hunt for shark's teeth is after a storm when the waves have exposed new layers of sand, there are enough teeth regularly found here that any time is a good time to find these pieces of nature's treasure.
What beach has the most shark teeth? ›
Venice FL is known as the shark's tooth capitol of the world and Caspersen Beach is the place to find the most of them. Most of the other beaches in the area have had the sand wash away and then be replenished with sand from another beach. Caspersen is still the original beach with fossil teeth.
Why are there so many shark teeth at Folly Beach SC? ›
Gale said that the proliferation of shark's teeth on Folly Beach is due to a beach renourishment in 2014 that brought gravely, sediment sand to the shoreline for erosion control. The next renourishment may bury the existing fossils so now is a good time to hunt.
What do shark teeth look like on the beach? ›
As we mentioned, most shark teeth you find will be fossilized, so narrow your search by looking for black objects. The fossil will be very dense, while the shells are very brittle. If you can easily break the item you find, it's most likely not a shark tooth. Look for symmetry and patterns in these dense black objects.
What is the best tide to find shark teeth? ›
High tide is perfect for hunting shells
Often, we're told low tide is the time to shell. But you'll likely find more, especially shark teeth when the tide is coming in. Look for them where the waves break. You might even see smaller ones in the sand around you when you're lounging in your beach chair.
Is there a shark tooth identifier app? ›
SharkToothID is an easy-to-use app to help identify fossilized sharks' teeth found along the Carolinas and Florida coasts.
