TOOTH PROFILE / LIVING

Bluntnose sixgilltooth identification

Wide lower tooth with a tall leading cusp followed by a comb of smaller cusps.

LivingHexanchus griseusLiving; fossil relatives are common
FIELD VERDICT

Wide lower tooth with a tall leading cusp followed by a comb of smaller cusps.

Cusp count, crown proportions and age are needed to distinguish sixgill from sevengill and fossil hexanchids.

01

ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE

Front, edge and jaw position.

FRONT / LABIAL VIEWEDGE / PROFILEMIXED EDGEPOSITION CHANGES SHAPE● ANTERIOR● LATERALTUFFSHARK ORIGINAL TOOTH PLATEDIAGRAMMATIC · NOT TO SCALE
Original TuffShark vector illustration. Trait emphasis is diagrammatic; it is not a specimen photograph or a substitute for an associated jaw.
02

IDENTIFICATION TRAITS

What to inspect.

Crown shape
Comb-like or Several cusps
Cutting edge
Uneven / mixed serrations
Side cusplets
Several smaller cusps
Root
Wide / nearly flat root
Reference tooth height
About 8–35 mm, depending on age and jaw position
Jaw variation
Narrow pointed uppers and broad comb-like lower teeth.
03

ECOLOGY + SCALE

The shark behind the tooth.

Habitat
Deep temperate and tropical slopes, canyons and seamounts.
Diet
Fishes, rays, sharks, squid, crustaceans and carrion.
Estimated shark size
Commonly 3–4.5 m (10–15 ft); large females may be longer.
Bite force
No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
Fossil occurrence
Hexanchid teeth have a long Jurassic-to-Recent record.
Time range
Living; fossil relatives are common
04

FUNCTION

Form follows feeding.

Upper teeth are narrow and pointed; lower teeth are the distinctive cutting comb associated with cow sharks.

05

LOOKALIKES

Do not stop at the first match.

LivingBroadnose sevengillLower teeth form a comb with one tall cusp and a row of progressively smaller cusps.Compare visual profile →LivingFrilled sharkThree long, slender, backward-curving cusps on a broad base, forming a trident-like tooth.Compare visual profile →
06

DIRECT COMPARISONS

Put it beside its closest rival.

TOOTH VS TOOTHBroadnose sevengill versus Bluntnose sixgillOpen comparison →
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE

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.

Open source ↗
HAVE A TOOTH TO CHECK?

Put these traits into the identification flow.

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