On a cold Monday morning near the Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach, ocean waves are lapping onto Charles Shelton Jr.’s black, rubber boots as he dips his metal scoop into the sand and examines its contents in the water.
After just a few scoops, he finds what he is looking for. There among the broken bits of shell and wet sand is a black, shiny triangular shark tooth. Shelton turns the tooth over in his hand and declares that it’s a tooth from a Dusky shark .
A little later, he found teeth from a Sand Tiger and a Makko shark. And while these aren’t the big finds that he’s really looking for – Great White, Megalodon and Carolina Creams – they are the kind that can bring excitement to a novice hunter.
Shelton is an expert shark tooth hunter. He offers his knowledge and expertise on finding sharks’ teeth and fossils during tours and educational talks, including a most recent talk at the North Myrtle Beach Historical Museum where it was standing room only for those wanting to hear his tips and tricks. He also manages the Myrtle Beach Shark Teeth Facebook page , which currently has more than 41,000 members.