PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Brenda Krukemeier relaxes by going scuba diving looking for prehistoric shark’s teeth.
Krukemeier said one of her favorite finds was a four-inch intact tooth fossilized in coral.
Her prized shark tooth is also her largest.
“There are 10 feet of shark to each inch of tooth this larger than 6-inch tooth would have come from a shark over 60 feet long,” Krukemeier explained.
Krukemeier said she found the tooth a mile off Venice Beach in 30 feet of water at first.
“I went over, flipped it over and I realized it was a shark’s tooth. I was so excited," Krukemeier said.
Venice is known as the shark tooth capital of the world.
Krukemeier said the area she found the tooth in is called the boneyard.
"This area we dive is an ancient brackish water pool. That’s where sharks would have their babies,” Krukemeier said.
Krukemeier said she has collected thousands of small teeth over the years and a few hundred larger ones.
Krukemeier said she tries to dive for shark’s teeth twice a month.
She has a goal in mind.
"My goal is to find the biggest tooth ever,” Krukemeier said.
Krukemeier has been diving for shark’s teeth since 2005 with AristaKat Charters out of Venice. She said you can find many small teeth along the shore but if you want to find the big ones you’ll have to dive for them.
What other people are reading right now:
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.