FIN Facts & Hacks
Welcome to FIN Facts & Hacks!
Welcome to the ultimate resource for our veteran divers. This page is dedicated to maximizing your Megalodon tooth hunting success and ensuring safe, standardized diving practices. Your commitment to service continues beneath the waves—let's keep it safe and successful!
The Tooth Hunter's Mindset
Grid Search is King: Instead of aimlessly swimming, commit to a small, defined area and perform an organized grid search. Use natural bottom features (or even your dive buddy's bubble stream) as markers to maintain your pattern and ensure full coverage.
The "Look Past It" Technique: Train your eye to look beyond the silt and sand. Focus on the subtle texture, color, and shape differences that suggest a tooth, rather than expecting a perfectly clean, black outline. Look for the glint of the enamel or the curve of the root.
Bottom Time Management: North Carolina Megalodon dives are often deep and involve deco. Carry a small, bright dive light (even in clear water) to illuminate crevices and verify finds without compromising your no-decompression limits (NDL) or gas supply.
DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle) Mastery
Conserve Battery with Bursts: Don't hold the trigger down constantly. Use short bursts of power to get to the site or cover ground, then switch off to maintain a slow, focused speed during the search. This conserves battery and allows for a better focus on the bottom.
Trim & Buoyancy (The Key to Control): Practice perfect horizontal trim and neutral buoyancy. A DPV can quickly pull you up or down if you're not controlled. You should be able to operate the DPV one-handed while maintaining 1-2 inches of clearance from the bottom.
Standardizing Gear Placement
The 3-Second Rule: All critical emergency equipment (knife, primary light, backup mask, SMB, spool) should be accessible with no more than three seconds of effort, using either hand, and without looking.
Left vs. Right Priority: Left Side (Gas & Propulsion): Primary light canister, long hose/backup regulator, cutting tool (shears).
Right Side (Navigation & Safety): Spool and SMB, backup light, line cutter/knife.
Rationale: This standard placement ensures any buddy or surface support knows exactly where to find your essential items, which is critical for safety and team diving.
Tooth Identification:
What Did I Find? (Visual Guide)
While our target is the massive Megalodon (Otodus megalodon), North Carolina waters are home to teeth from a diverse range of prehistoric sharks.
Image
Shark Species
Typical Characteristics/Description
Megalodon (Otodus Megalodon)
3 to over 7 in
Chubutensis
(Otodus Chubutensis)
2 to 4 in
Broad-tooth
White Shark
(Carcharodon Hastails)
1.5 to 3.5 in
Great White
(Carcharodon Carcharias)
1 to 3 in
Mako Shark
(Isurus Sp.)
1 to 3 in
Snaggletooth
(Hemipristis Sp.)
0.5 to 1.5 in
Tiger Shark
(Galeocerdo Sp.)
0.5 to 1.5 in
Benedini
(Otodus Benedini)
1.5 to 3 in
Massive Size, very thick enamel, a distinct, uniform bourlette, and fine, uniform serrations. Blade is very robust.
Transitional Tooth. Similar shape but usually smaller and thinner. Defined by the presence of small, sharp side cusplets that flare out from the root.
Ancestor of the modern Great White. Blade is typically broad and triangular, often large, and LACKS SERRATIONS. Root is broad and flat.
Generally thinner than Megalodon. Rough, irregular serrations are present and it LACKS a bourlette. Root lobes are V-shaped.
Characterized by a smooth, sharp blade (no serrations), a narrow, often recurved (hooked) tip, and a wide, flared root.
Easily identified by its highly slanted/oblique root and the presence of large, coarse serrations that diminish toward the tip.
Easily identified by its distinct asymmetrical, cocked shape with a deep notch on the side. The edge has coarse, interlocking serrations.
Ancient Ancestor. Characterized by a thick, V-shaped root and very large, blunt cusplets. The blade is smooth (lacks serrations).
The Colors of Time:
Understanding Tooth Coloration
The color of a fossilized shark tooth is not an indicator of its species or age, but rather the minerals in the sediment where it rested.
When the organic material in the tooth is replaced by minerals (the process of fossilization), the new color depends entirely on the surrounding environment:
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Black/Gray: The most common color, often found when the teeth are preserved in muds or clays rich in phosphate or pyrite.
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Tan/Light Brown: Indicative of preservation in sandy or silt-heavy environments with high iron content.
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Blue/White: Less common, usually resulting from highly pure quartz sand or limestone/calcium carbonate sediment.
The Rarity of Brown/Orange Fossils: While all colors are beautiful, the deep reddish-brown to orange teeth are generally considered more rarein North Carolina diving.
This coloration indicates a very high concentration of Iron Oxide (rust) in the sediment layer where the tooth settled. These specific, heavily iron-stained layers are often less extensive or less frequently exposed than the gray/black phosphate beds, making teeth with this distinctive, warm coloration a special find for any collector.
Identifying Key Tooth Anatomy: To properly identify and describe your finds, it helps to know the parts of the tooth:
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Crown: The visible, enamel-covered part of the tooth (the blade).
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Root: The part that was embedded in the jaw, often wider and flatter.
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Serrations: The "saw-like" edges used for cutting.
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Bourlette: The smooth, dark, raised band or chevron shape on the root, just under the crown. Present on Megalodon, absent on Great Whites/Hastalis.
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Cusplets: Small projections or points at the corner of the main crown. A key identifier for Chubutensis and Benedini.
Dive Site Specifics
Answers to common questions about our typical Megalodon tooth hunting conditions off the coast of North Carolina.
Topic
Typical Conditions/Data
Safety & Context
Dive Profile:
Water Temps:
Visibility:
Currents:
Required Gear:
Depth: 80–120 feet (24–36 meters)
Surface: 70–80 degrees in summer; 50–65 degrees in winter.
Highly variable, depends on Gulf Stream influence and recent weather.
Can be strong due to proximity to the Gulf Stream.
MUST HAVE: SMB and spool/reel, Dive Computer (capable of decompression tracking), cutting tool, and backup light.
Bottom Time: Varies greatly, typically 20–30 minutes
Gas: Nitrox is strongly recommended to extend NDLs.
Bottom Temp: Can be 5-10 degrees colder than the surface due to thermoclines. Recommendation: 3mm or 5mm in the summer; 7-8mm wetsuit and Hood minimum in the winter; drysuit highly recommended for winter.
Visibility: Typically 20-30 feet is considered good. Can drop to 5–10 feet or lower when silt is disturbed during tooth hunting activities. Strict adherence to use of wreck reels is recommended to return to the anchor line for safe and controlled ascents .
Safety First: Due to the depth and potential for limited visibility; even buddy team divers are encouraged to carry redundant gas systems (e.g., pony bottle).
