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Finding Megalodon Shark Teeth at the Calvert Cliffs - November 2007

Calvert Cliffs of Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay - Miocene Fossils

A Cold Day in the Miocene

Amy and I decided to take another trip down to the bay before the cold winter weather set in. Unbeknownst to us, Jack Frost decided to hitch a ride with us down to the bay. It was warm until we came down that weekend. Temperatures plummeted into the 30's. When we left, the temps rose again into the 50's. I hate Jack!

DAY 1

Not allowing the cold weather to break our spirits. We defiantly took the jetski out in freezing temperatures and large waves to get to a less collected spot in the Chesapeake Bay area. a jetski can handle a small craft advisory. About 5 minutes into the ride, and only a 1/2 mile out, we realized it was a bad idea. But no, we did not turn around. We ventured foreword into the chill. After arriving at our destination, we could not find a spot park. The current was too strong to hold the anchor, and the waves too high to depart the jetski. With our bodies quickly becoming numb. I aimed the craft toward the shore and went full throttle. Bouncing off submerged rocks along the way, the craft flew onto the beach leaving us high and dry, for once! Knowing we were the only fools to make it to this beach, we quickly toweled off and went to find all the that the surf had kicked up for us.

A few hours later, when the tide came in, we only had one tooth over 1.5". Disappointed, and having the tide washing at our feet, we departed. We went full throttle back to the boat launch. This was the quickest we had ever gotten the jetski back onto the trailer, and the longest we had huddled in the car with the heat on high. When digits went from purple to pink and numb to throbbing, we left for a seafood restaurant to re-energize and re-think our strategy for the next day.

DAY 2

That morning we awoke to see a layer of Ice on our car and jetski. Temps were only in the 20's!!!! Today would be a land day; no boats would be in the equation. I called Paul, who was down here for a "non-fossil" weekend, to see if he wanted to hunt with us. He agreed and got us into two nice spots along the bay without using a boat! It was nice for a change to be collecting without being soaked to the bone. This day would treat us a little better. I ended up finding 2 megs. One was about 1.5", and the other had a 2 5/8" slant height. Paul saw me pick up the larger one and then heard me immediately complain about its small size. After giving me a disgusted look, I tried to explain that I needed to break the 3" barrier at the cliffs! He had no remorse.

Amy and I then visited Paleoscan for a few minutes and departed. He arrived as we were leaving.

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Images and Fossils Found

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Recommended Books for Shark Tooth Identification

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Fossil Shark Teeth of the World
, A Collector's Guide
by Joe Cocke, Copyright 2002

A great book for identifying all those teeth. This book is laid out "as simple as possible." It's ease of use and small size makes it great to carry during collecting trips. This book shows teeth from around the globe, but all the Calvert teeth can be found in it.

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Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region
, A Collector's Guide
by Bretton W. Kent, Copyright 1994

This is a classic for identifying all those teeth at the Calvert Cliffs. It's a must for any beginner collector that fossil hunts in the Maryland/Virginia area.
Unfortunately, this book is out of print. There's used ones on amazon for super insane amounts of money, but SOMETIMES there is a used one available for a few bucks.