Upper teeth are curved and finely serrated; lower teeth are narrow, straighter and often smoother.
Upper teeth overlap with several small requiem sharks; lower teeth are even less species-specific.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Hooked blade or Narrow dagger
- Cutting edge
- Fine serrations
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Two distinct root lobes
- Reference tooth height
- About 6–24 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Curved serrated uppers cut; narrow lowers hold prey.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Temperate and tropical open oceans worldwide.
- Diet
- Squid, fishes and carrion.
- Estimated shark size
- Usually 1.8–3 m (6–10 ft); exceptional animals are larger.
- 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.
Strong upper/lower heterodonty suits cutting and holding slippery pelagic prey. Laterals become progressively more oblique.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingSilky sharkUpper teeth are oblique and finely serrated with a distinct notch; lower teeth are narrow and erect.Compare visual profile →LivingBlacktip sharkNarrow, erect upper cusp with fine serrations and a broader base; lower teeth are slimmer and more upright.Compare visual profile →LivingSpinner sharkSlim triangular teeth; uppers are finely serrated while lowers are narrow and usually smoother.Compare visual profile →
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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