Shark Awareness Day – Fossil Hunt Let’s Go Hunting for Shark Teeth! Shark Awareness Day is on July 14th, join the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo to celebrate sharks around the world! Practice your students’ identification skills while they learn about sharks! Identifying shark teeth is not an easy task since the tooth structure can change over time, but it is not impossible. Did you know that sharks are among the most ancient animals on Earth, and there are more than 500 different species?! See below for a variety of questions to engage your students even further: How many teeth do you think an average shark has? Do they have rows of teeth? If so, how many rows are there? How do you think the teeth became fossilized? Can you identify which tooth belongs to which shark? Can you describe what the tooth looks like, or how they differ or alike? Cut out the shark teeth and hide them in a sandbox or the backyard for the kids to hunt for them! Please encourage the kids to count how many teeth there are and determine which shark the tooth belongs to. Where Does All of These Teeth Come From? The number of teeth varies greatly depending on the shark species. Some sharks can have over 50,000 teeth in their lifetime. Since most sharks have teeth in layered rows, they have a wide range from 2 to 3 rows or 15 rows. The teeth are not as strong as human teeth, so they tend to fall off easily. This is not an issue for them because if one breaks off, a newly produced sharp tooth can take its place. A shark’s eating habits can determine the shape and size of its tooth. Sharks can shed thousands of teeth throughout their life. A shark tooth is rarely white because when the tooth is buried in the sand which turns it from a white tooth to a deeper color such as black, gray, or tan. The fossilization process can take up to thousands of years. It’s difficult to determine the exact age of a shark tooth. If you would like to learn more about shark teeth, visit https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover- fish/sharks/fossil/shark-teeth/ for more in-depth information. Be on the lookout for the sharks at the zoo! Share a picture of your fossil hunting adventure by tagging #fwkidszoo or send to [email protected]! Connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care. Shark Awareness Day – Fossil Hunt Connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care. Shark Awareness Day – Fossil Hunt Connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care. .