Narrow, erect upper cusp with fine serrations and a broader base; lower teeth are slimmer and more upright.
Blacktip and spinner teeth overlap substantially and commonly warrant a combined identification.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Narrow dagger or Broad triangle
- Cutting edge
- Fine serrations
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Two distinct root lobes or Wide / nearly flat root
- Reference tooth height
- About 6–25 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Upper teeth are broader and serrated; lower teeth are narrow and erect.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Warm coastal waters, bays and island shelves.
- Diet
- Schooling fishes, small sharks, rays and crustaceans.
- Estimated shark size
- Usually 1.5–2.2 m (5–7 ft).
- Bite force
- No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
- Fossil occurrence
- Fossil teeth are reported, but isolated teeth may only be identifiable to genus or family.
- Time range
- Living; fossil teeth occur
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
The upper teeth are less broadly triangular than bull or dusky shark teeth. Tooth position and age strongly affect proportions.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingSpinner sharkSlim triangular teeth; uppers are finely serrated while lowers are narrow and usually smoother.Compare visual profile →RELATED FORMFinetooth sharkUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike. LivingBlue sharkUpper teeth are curved and finely serrated; lower teeth are narrow, straighter and often smoother.Compare visual profile →
06
DIRECT COMPARISONS
Put it beside its closest rival.
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.
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