Fossil Hunting for Sharks Teeth- Hunt for yours on Etsy!

Since I was little I've always imagined finding treasure or artifacts. Back then it was digging a few inches under my mom's hydrangeas, thinking I would find golden doubloons buried by pirates. I started sketching "cat pirates" and then prehistoric animals, and decided I wanted to be a paleontologist. While that dream never worked out, there is still a fascination with buried treasure and artifacts of all kinds.

Now I live near an area that is famous around the world for fossils of extinct sea life, the Lee Creek deposit also known as Aurora in NC. I enjoy spending time hunting and collecting sharks teeth and other fossils at least a few times a week. It's always a thrill when I find one! Most of the teeth I find range from early Miocene (12-26 million years ago) to Pliocene (2.5-12 million.)

The photo above left shows a whale vertebrae at the rear. The large sharks tooth is from an extinct megalodon, the most fearsome shark ever. (closeup at right) This tooth is from a small one, only 1 3/4", as teeth larger than a mans hand have been found! The white lines on the back of sharks teeth are from their teeth scraping bone as they fed. Notice the serrations on the edges! The close up above right shows fossil shell in matrix (upper left corner,) to the right a possible coprolite (fossil poop,) shark vertebrae, ray mouth plates, shark teeth, pieces of bone and coral.


I've had so much fun discovering these buried treasures that I've started offering some of my fossils on Etsy, for use in mixed media and as jewelry componants. Check them out! Interested in fossil ID? Here's one of the sites in my area that can help:
http://www.elasmo.com/