Sharks Tooth
A shark’s tooth may be meaningless to most people, but for collectors, it is something to be prized, bought and sold. Unlike humans, a shark’s tooth does not have roots and they grow new ones every eight days. An average shark may have between 4000-6000 teeth in a lifetime. Interestingly enough, a shark’s tooth is the only part of a shark that doesn’t dissolve in salt water. That’s because a shark’s skeleton is made of cartilage instead of bones.
At all times, a shark has teeth growing behind the teeth they are using. When one falls out, another one is already there to replace it. A shark’s tooth is made of a hard enamel and tissue that is calcified. The teeth fall to the floor of the ocean, where they lie for years--sometimes thousands of years, and then get washed ashore.
Shark tooth hunters spend their time searching for these teeth that have washed ashore onto beaches. Sometimes they can be even farther inland where oceans once covered the land and now do not. Some people hunt for the teeth as a hobby while others make a business out of buying and selling shark teeth. Just take a look on the popular auction site, EBay, or private websites and you can begin to see just how many shark teeth are for sale.
There are several types of shark teeth but usually a shark’s tooth is one of two types. Some sharks--those that eat small fish--have teeth that are sharp but very thin. They catch the fish with their teeth, killing it immediately and swallowing it whole. The Sand Tiger is a good example of this kind of shark.
The second type of shark tooth comes from sharks like the Great White Shark. Because their prey is much larger, they have teeth that are wider and serrated. These teeth immediately cut through bones and flesh. Some sharks have a combination of both of these types of teeth. They can hold onto their prey while they tear it apart. Because a shark needs its teeth to survive, the teeth are constantly replaced.
While a shark’s tooth can be found anywhere there has been ocean water, some locations have more shark teeth than others. For instance, Venice, Florida, which is located on the Gulf of Mexico, has named itself “shark tooth capital of the world.” In fact, every spring in Venice a shark’s tooth festival is held where people come from all over the world to buy, sell and show shark teeth. The festival runs for several days with food, games, exhibits, presentations, and all kinds of opportunities to get together with fellow shark tooth collectors.
One of the things that makes shark tooth collecting special is that sharks have inhabited the earth for millions of years. The teeth sit in sand and sediment on the bottom of the ocean until they are washed ashore, sometimes thousands of years later. By then the teeth are black, brown, and gray fossils. Depending on what shark they came from and their age, they can be worth good money. The seven-inch tooth of the ancient Megalodon Shark is worth thousands of dollars. Other collectors have more of an artistic appreciation of the teeth in the same way that collectors appreciate antiques.