Smooth, pointed conical cusp on a broad base, similar in upper and lower jaws.
Angel-shark species have similar teeth and commonly require locality or associated skeletal material.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Narrow dagger
- Cutting edge
- Smooth edge
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Wide / nearly flat root
- Reference tooth height
- About 5–20 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Smooth conical teeth are broadly similar in upper and lower jaws.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Western Atlantic continental shelf, often buried on sand or mud.
- Diet
- Bottom fishes, squid, crustaceans and mollusks.
- Estimated shark size
- Usually 0.9–1.2 m (3–4 ft); maximum reports near 1.5 m.
- Bite force
- No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
- Fossil occurrence
- Squatinid teeth occur from the Jurassic onward, often at genus level.
- Time range
- Living; angel-shark fossils occur
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
The teeth seize bottom-dwelling prey during rapid ambush strikes rather than slicing it.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingGoblin sharkTall, narrow, smooth-edged teeth with longitudinal grooves; front teeth are especially slender and fang-like.Compare visual profile →RELATED FORMSmall lamniform sharksUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike.
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗Florida Museum
The visual plate is original TuffShark artwork and is not copied from the reference. Use the source alongside formation age, locality and associated material.
HAVE A TOOTH TO CHECK?
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