Fossil shark teeth turn up on beaches, riverbanks and creek gravel along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and you don’t need a degree or costly gear to find them. This guide to how to find shark teeth covers well-known spots in Maryland, Virginia and Florida, the collecting rules at those sites, the tides and conditions that improve your odds, the gear to bring and what your finds can tell you.
Teeth are common for a simple reason. Sharks shed and replace teeth throughout their lives, so one animal can leave thousands behind, Smithsonian marine paleobiologist David Bohaska explained to Smithsonian Magazine in its guide to fossil sites near Washington, D.C. About 20 million years ago, much of what is now Maryland, Virginia and D.C. sat under the sea, and erosion keeps freeing those ancient teeth today. For the bigger picture, see our look at how sharks evolved over hundreds of millions of years.
Where can you find shark teeth in the U.S.?
These sites are among the best known, and each produces a different mix of fossils.
- Calvert Cliffs, Maryland: The cliffs run about 24 miles (39 kilometers) along the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Calvert Cliffs State Park page says more than 600 Miocene species, 10 million to 20 million years old, have been identified there, with shark teeth, oyster shells, Chesapecten scallops and Ecphora snails among the common finds.
- Calvert Cliffs State Park access: In Lusby, Maryland, the collecting beach sits at the end of the red trail, roughly 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometers) from the parking lot. Smithsonian notes that the park can close when full on busy holiday weekends.
- Purse State Park, Maryland: On the Potomac River near Nanjemoy, this site exposes the Aquia Formation, 55 million to 59 million years old, which holds teeth from many shark and bony fish species, according to Smithsonian paleontologist Michelle Pinsdorf. The trails are unmarked, so bring a map and compass.
- Westmoreland State Park and Stratford Hall, Virginia: Fossil Beach in Montross, Virginia, is known for shark teeth, and the cliffs at neighboring Stratford Hall share similar geology. At Stratford Hall, visitors need a grounds pass to reach a small, marked collecting stretch about 100 yards long, and volunteer-led tours are offered.
- Peace River, Florida: Around Arcadia and Zolfo Springs, Visit Florida advises hunting when water is low and sifting gravel near exposed sandbars.
- Venice, Florida: The town calls itself the Shark Tooth Capital, but most beach finds are small, roughly 1/8 inch to 3/4 inch (3 to 19 millimeters), and dark in color. Collectors hoping for bigger specimens, megalodon among them, usually have to dive offshore to get them.
What are the rules for collecting shark teeth on public land?
Florida has the clearest rules. The Florida Fossil Permit Program at the Florida Museum of Natural History says anyone may collect and keep shark and ray teeth, along with invertebrate and plant fossils, without a permit. The Florida Geological Survey says that applies on state lands outside state parks, wildlife refuges and designated state paleontological sites.
Other Florida rules to know:
- Any other vertebrate fossil found on state land, such as a bone, requires a Florida Fossil Permit, which costs $5 and lasts one year.
- Permit holders must report their finds to the museum, which may claim significant specimens. Finds not claimed within 60 days belong to the collector, and the museum requests only about 1% of reported fossils.
- Fossils on private property belong to the landowner, and county-owned land is up to the county.
- The permit does not cover archaeological artifacts such as arrowheads or pottery. Collecting artifacts on state land without an Archaeological Research Permit is illegal.
Maryland focuses on where you stand. According to a 2025 Maryland DNR release on prehistoric shark teeth, the law shields any fossil still lodged in a cliff face or riverbank, so hunters may pick up finds only from the beach itself. At Calvert Cliffs, collecting beneath the cliffs is illegal and that zone is permanently closed. Rules vary by state and site, so confirm with the managing agency before you dig.
When is the best time to look for shark teeth?
Low tide gives you the most beach to search, and storms help. Pinsdorf told Smithsonian that “if you go in the days after a storm or rough waters, you’re more likely to find fossils that have recently eroded out of the bedrock, and are in better condition as a result.”
Hobbyist guides to Venice agree, pointing to an early-morning low tide after a storm, since most fossils sit underwater at high tide. At Calvert Cliffs, high tide can shrink some beaches or cover them entirely, so check tides, wind, weather and park notices before you go. On the Peace River, the drier months from about October through April bring lower water and more exposed gravel, according to hobbyist guides.
How to find shark teeth: gear and technique
The kit is basic, and you’ll usually need to bring your own.
- A small shovel and a sieve are allowed for sifting at Calvert Cliffs State Park, according to Maryland DNR.
- A colander or mesh screen helps you sift gravel at Purse State Park, where the teeth are small but plentiful, Pinsdorf said.
- A long-handled mesh scoop, often called a Venice snow shovel, is a local favorite for working the surf in Venice.
- Leave the hammer at home, because banging on rocks damages fossils, Bohaska advises.
At Venice, teeth tend to gather in shell piles, along the tide line and at the drop-off where waves break. Shuffle your feet in the shallows because stingrays rest in the sand, and watch for sharp broken shell. Near cliffs, keep your distance.
If you look at the cliff and it has a crack, or if there’s a tree overhanging, that’s not a place you want to stand.
David Bohaska, marine paleobiologist, Smithsonian
Expect slow days. “It takes patience, this stuff isn’t littering the ground,” amateur paleontologist Jon Bachman, Stratford Hall’s educational events coordinator, told Smithsonian.
What kind of shark tooth did you find?
Location is your first clue. Maryland DNR lists tiger, hammerhead and sand shark teeth among Calvert Cliffs finds, plus the occasional megalodon, and hobbyist ID guides add mako and sand tiger. A study of Calvert Cliffs teeth found that about 70% of those collected in place came from ground sharks and about 26% from mackerel sharks. To see how scientists read these clues, check out our story on a study that maps shark evolution through teeth.
Megalodon teeth are large and serrated. In 2024 the Calvert Marine Museum displayed 53 teeth from a single megalodon found at Calvert Cliffs; the biggest is about 5.5 inches (14 centimeters), from a shark estimated at roughly 50 feet (15 meters). Our feature on how megalodon’s teeth evolved and a study on megalodon’s body heat and gigantism explain more about the animal behind them.
Not everything pointed is a shark tooth. At Purse State Park, prehistoric crocodile teeth look like “an ice cream cone with an almost silky texture,” Bohaska said, and worn oyster shell fragments there turn purple and smooth. Sharks leave other traces too, as our story on fossil shark scales shows, and finds can reach far back in time, like a nearly 300-million-year-old species from China.
Age is harder to judge. Calvert Cliffs layers tilt, with younger material at the top and older below, so where you search matters. Peace River gravel, by contrast, mixes material spanning millions of years. For help, the Maryland Geological Survey publishes guidance on identifying finds, and Bachman suggests learning basic geology, then studying your local rock formations to know what might turn up.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine, Florida Museum of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History / Study: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (Taylor & Francis)
