Shark tooth beaches in Florida, today
Checking shark tooth conditions…
Ratings are Coasti's estimate from surf, tide trend and water clarity. Not a guarantee.
How to find shark teeth
Venice, Florida is known as the Shark Tooth Capital of the World. The coast sits on a shell and fossil layer 18 to 35 feet deep, and storms and heavy surf gradually work its teeth loose and carry them up onto the beach.
Most collectors work the shell line at the water's edge, where a low drop-off ledge concentrates shells and teeth together. Scoop sand and shells from the ledge, carry it back up the beach, and sift through it by hand.
The classic tool is a screened sifting basket on a handle, sold locally as the "Venice Snow Shovel." A kitchen strainer works too, and plenty of people just scan the sand by eye.
What people find
Most beach finds run about 1/8 inch to 3/4 inch, occasionally a bit larger. Teeth over an inch are uncommon from shore and usually turn up with divers working the offshore beds instead.
Color comes from the minerals that seep into a tooth over thousands of years, so fossil teeth run darker than a living shark's white teeth, in shades from black and grey to orange-brown depending on the sediment they sat in.