Venice Beach Shark Tooth Dive
Again I trek out in the dark. Seems to be a trend here in Florida, nothing is close. I am going to Venice Beach to try my hand at collecting shark teeth.
I am meeting a local diver who regularly dives this site, Walter. Why are all the shark teeth collecting in Venice? This is the explanation Walter gives “Sea level rises and falls. In the past Florida has been both much larger and much smaller (wasn't there at all) than it's current size. For that reason, you'll find marine fossils (including shark teeth) any where you bother to look in Florida. You'll also find terrestrial fossils quite some distance out into the Gulf. Shark teeth are common because sharks constantly shed their teeth. Over millions of years, billions of teeth were shed. Some of them fossilized. You can dig anywhere in Florida and find shark teeth. Quarries and construction sites (assuming you get permission) are excellent places to find fossils (including shark teeth). Rivers and streams naturally dig and uncover fossils. They are favorite fossiling sites. When sea level was much lower than now, there was an ancient river digging up fossils. That river ran through what is now off shore Venice. “
When I arrive, the sun is out and Walter is already there and assembling his gear. We walk down to the water which is like glass, my assessment at least. It is also fairly clear which is unusual for this area. Near perfect conditions. Woo Hoo lets dive!
Three additional divers arrived and we kitted up and headed into the water. The beach sand was dark with a black tint to it. At the waterline there was an initial drop of about 2 to 2 ½ foot and then the shoreline gradually gave way to a gently sloping white sandy bottom.
We surface swam out about 100 yards and dropped down about 17 feet to the first tooth bed. I had no idea what we were looking for, but everyone else was busy picking things up right and left and I saw nothing.
Well…. not nothing. I played with some very friendly sea perch and had a stubborn match with a teenaged sea robbin. I poked and prodded and flicked this little fish and he held his ground, looked me right in the eye and dared me to do it again. He refused to move, until I opened my goody bag to scoop him in and then he fanned out his wings and took off like a shot. There were huge hermit crabs, their shells about half the size of my fist and sand dollars, they had sand dollars! I could have used them in September but I was still glad to have them now.
I really needed to concentrate. And suddenly, there it was, a tooth, and another one and another one. I was getting the hang of this. A few times one of the other divers would stick something in my hand for my bag that I did not recognize so I would tuck it away for later.
While I found about a dozen “dentist quality” teeth the size of my thumbnail I would occasionally get my fishy attention deficit and stop and play with the local residents. There were these worms that would immediately retract into the sand if you came near them leaving a clear sac (The best description I can come up with is it looked like a condom) floating in the water. Does anyone know what these are?
We made our way along the bottom at an average depth of 17 feet for 62 minutes before heading in as members of the group were starting to chill.
We opted to pack up our gear and head into town for lunch and a lesson in identifying the teeth we collected.
Venice Beach is a quaint old town, originally developed by the railroad as a retirement community for it’s employees. We sat at an outdoor café, had lunch and compared finds. While one of the divers found 2 megaladon teeth several inches long, I did not. But I did find upper and lower bullshark teeth and those of the sand tiger shark among others. Some of the unusual items the other divers put in my bag were the discarded barbs from rays along with portions of their dental plates.
After a quick walk around the town center while enjoying some icecream and conversation I headed home
The dive was relaxing, fun and informative, I will do it again.
Love
Cheryl