Tennis, shopping, churches and restaurants are within walking
distance. Just a short drive will provide golf, water sports, charter fishing, arts and
entertainment, recreation areas, museums and wonderful dining adventures.
Fossilized Shark's Teeth, Approx. 2 to 35 Million Years Old
Children love it here, there is so much "fun stuff" to do. Besides swimming in the Gulf
or in the heated pool, a short trip to Casperson beach in Venice is a great place to
find fossilized shark teeth. (Adults like this also). These fossilized shark’s teeth
were shed by sharks that
lived approximately 2 – 35 million years ago. The Carchorodon Megalodon Shark teeth
have been found in excess of 71/2 inches slant length (tip to blade to the edge of the
root). As shark skeletons are cartilage, there are no fossilized remains of sharks except
for their teeth. The rule of thumb is 10 foot of fish per inch of tooth, meaning
Megalodons could have exceeded 70 feet in length. A modern day Great While shark rarely
reaches a length greater than 22 feet. Sharks have 5 to 6 rows of teeth with approximately
300 teeth in their mouth. Through the course of their life time, they shed approximately
24,000 teeth. The teeth in the upper jaw are different shape than the teeth of the lower
jaw in most sharks, with the two exceptions being the Sand and the Tiger shark. Shark’s
teeth can be compared to fencing blades. The upper teeth are like saber blades and are
designed to cut or slash. The lower teeth are like foils and are designed to pierce the
prey and hold it in place while the upper blades do the cutting. Sand sharks have piercing
teeth uppers and lowers to bite down on sting rays and other bottom fish. Tiger sharks
have heavy thick teeth to bite through turtles, birds, and heavier boned prey.
We have seen Manatees at the Jetty, a less than 5 minute walk from the condos. They are
very shy, so you don't see them often.
About Manatees
Manatees, also known as sea cows, belong to the order Sirenia. There are four living
species in the order Sirenia. The four living species are the West Indian manatee, the
West African manatee, the Amazonian manatee, and the dugong. There was a fifth species,
the Steller’s seacow. However, in 1741 it was hunted to extinction, only 27 years
after it’s discovery in the Bering Sea.
The manatees that are seen along the coast of Florida are West Indian manatees. There are
two subspecies of the West Indian manatee; the Florida manatee and the Antillean manatee.
The Florida manatee can be found along the southeastern United States. The Antillean
manatee can be found throughout eastern Central America, and northeastern South America
as far south as Brazil’s northeast coast.
Manatees tend to stay in shallow, slow-moving rivers, bays, estuaries, and coastal water
ecosystems because these areas offer the manatee everything it needs to survive; warm
water, shelter, food and breeding areas.
During the winter, cold temperatures keep the manatee population concentrated in
peninsular Florida. Cold affects manatees when the temperature falls below 68 degrees
Fahrenheit. Large numbers of manatees can usually be found near warm-water sources, such
as natural springs or near power plants with warm water discharge.
During the summer, the manatees can be found as far west as Louisiana and as far north
as Virginia and the Carolina’s. In the summer months, manatees range throughout the
coastal waters, estuaries, bays and rivers of both coasts of Florida. They are usually
found in small groups.
The average adult manatee is 10 feet long and weighs 1,200 pounds. However, manatees can
grow to reach a length of 13 feet and a weight of approximately 3,000 pounds. Up to six
to eight hours each day is spent in the sea grass beds feeding. They consume about
ten to fifteen percent of their body weight daily, or about 60 to 100 pounds.
Manatees are herbivores, and eat a large variety of submerged, emergent, and
floating plants.
Female manatees reach sexual maturity when they are about seven years old. Once they are
sexually mature, they only give birth to one calf every two to five years. Their
gestitation period is thirteen months.
Newborn manatee calves are 4 to 4.5 feet long and weigh about 70 pounds. The main source
of nourishment for calves comes from their mother’s milk, although they are able to
nibble on plants within a few weeks of birth because they are born with premolars and
molars. The calves nurse underwater for three minutes at a time from nipples
located underneath the mother’s flippers.
Arial surveys conducted by Mote marine Laboratory have indicated that manatees are
consistently found in Sarasots’s water during non-winter months. Results from the surveys
have also sighted up to 117 manatees in the survey area, that manatees migrate through
the Sarasota area as the water warms and cools, and that the Sarasota area has many
manatee “hot spots” where they gather. This information has provided the basis for
Sarasota County to adopt a comprehensive manatee protection plan.
Sea Turtles
They’re here! Sea turtles by the thousands are crawling onto our Florida beaches where
it’s warm enough to hatch their eggs. Over eighty percent of sea turtles nesting in the
United States come to Florida, and Sarasota County has the most Loggerhead sea turtle
nests on the western Gulf Coast. Even though the worldwide sea turtle population is
declining, Florida claims five of the eight species of sea turtles: Loggerhead, Green,
Hawksbill, Leatherback and the very rare Kemp’s Ridley. Adult sea turtles are sizable
animals; even the smallest weighs between 200 and 300 pounds, while others grow twice
the size. The male Leatherback for example, can weigh up to 1,600 pounds! While we are
lucky to have these remarkable, large air-breathing creatures in our midst, all of them
are either threatened or endangered and need our protection to survive.
From May through October, the female sea turtle drags her heavy body ashore to dig a
cavity in the sand into which she will deposit approximately one hundred ping-pong
ball-sized eggs. She then covers them over with sand and reenters the sea, leaving her
young to hatch and find their way to the water. Visitors to the area’s beaches can find
bright yellow marked stakes identifying a sea turtle nest that lies buried in the sand.
The nests should never be disturbed, and in fact, are protected by both federal
and state statutes. Dedicated sea turtle volunteers trained at Mote Marine Laboratory
aid in marking and recording these nest sites.
Hatchlings emerge from their eggs within two months and crawl toward the sea under the
cover of darkness, oriented by the light of the moon on the water. With lighting from
beach houses and businesses they can become disoriented and not reach their destination
at all.
This, along with the loss of habitat due to exposure to chemical pollutants leads
biologists to estimate that only one out of every 2,500 hatchlings survive to the age of
maturity.
At the Mote Marine Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, studies are underway to
learn more about the biology and behavior of these fascinating reptiles. Here, turtles
needing care are attended to and, if possible returned to the wild. Mote has a resident
Green turtle named “Hang Tough” who is blind and can never be released, “Flipper”, a
Kemp’s Ridley turtle, was recently found floating offshore from Nokomis and brought to
the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital for treatment. He is now doing well enough for
possible release to the warm waters of the Gulf.
Nearby Attractions
- Windsurfing
- Waterskiing
- Swimming
- Snorkeling/Diving
- Sailing
- Parasailing
- Jet Skiing
- Fishing
- Boating
- Theaters/Cinemas
- Shopping
- Golf
- Biking
- Stroll through historic downtown Venice
- Dining in fine restaurants
- Boutique shopping
- Free Outdoor concerts at the Venice Gazebo
- Or just watch the sunset, it's all here for your enjoyment
- Sarasota, FL is only 15 miles away
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