Broad, flat triangular crown like a white shark—but with completely smooth cutting edges.
Worn white-shark serrations can imitate a smooth edge; inspect both edges with magnification.
01
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Broad triangle
- Cutting edge
- Smooth edge
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Deep V-shaped root or Wide / nearly flat root
- Reference height
- roughly 18–70 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Time
- Miocene–Pliocene
02
WHY IT LOOKS THIS WAY
Form follows feeding.
This combination of a broad lamniform blade and absent serrations is the central field character.
03
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingGreat white sharkFlat, broad triangular blade with coarse serrations and no lateral cusplets.Compare profile →ExtinctCretoxyrhinaLarge smooth-edged triangular lamniform tooth with a substantial bilobed root.Compare profile →LivingShortfin makoSlender, smooth-edged crown that often flexes or curves, with no side cusplets.Compare profile →
PRIMARY / AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗Paleobiology Database
Use the source alongside collection locality and geologic age. A photograph alone cannot establish provenance.
HAVE A TOOTH TO CHECK?
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