TOOTH PROFILE / LIVING

Bull sharktooth identification

Broad, heavily serrated upper tooth or a narrower lower tooth with finer serrations.

LivingCarcharhinus leucasLiving; fossil teeth also occur
FIELD VERDICT

Broad, heavily serrated upper tooth or a narrower lower tooth with finer serrations.

Single upper teeth overlap strongly with dusky, sandbar and oceanic whitetip sharks. Exact species ID may require jaw position or locality.

01

ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE

Front, edge and jaw position.

FRONT / LABIAL VIEWEDGE / PROFILEFINE 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
Broad triangle or Narrow dagger
Cutting edge
Fine serrations or Coarse serrations
Side cusplets
No side cusplets
Root
Wide / nearly flat root or Two distinct root lobes
Reference tooth height
About 10–38 mm, depending on age and jaw position
Jaw variation
Broad serrated uppers cut; narrower finely serrated lowers grip and pierce.
03

ECOLOGY + SCALE

The shark behind the tooth.

Habitat
Warm coastal seas, estuaries and freshwater rivers.
Diet
Fishes, rays, sharks, turtles, birds and mammals.
Estimated shark size
Commonly 2–3.2 m (6.5–10.5 ft); large females can be longer.
Bite force
A theoretical study calculated 36–2,128 N anteriorly and 170–5,914 N posteriorly across 73–285 cm sharks. Research source ↗
Fossil occurrence
Carcharhinus-type teeth are common, but exact bull-shark attribution can be difficult.
Time range
Living; fossil teeth also occur
04

FUNCTION

Form follows feeding.

Upper and lower teeth are heterodont: the uppers cut with broad triangular crowns, while the lowers are narrower and more erect.

05

LOOKALIKES

Do not stop at the first match.

LivingOceanic whitetipBroad serrated upper tooth paired with a more pointed lower tooth serrated mainly near its tip.Compare visual profile →LivingSandbar sharkBroad, serrated high-cusped upper teeth; narrower and more finely serrated lowers.Compare visual profile →LivingGreat hammerheadTriangular, strongly serrated crown that becomes increasingly oblique toward the jaw corners.Compare visual profile →
06

DIRECT COMPARISONS

Put it beside its closest rival.

TOOTH VS TOOTHBull shark versus Dusky sharkOpen comparison →TOOTH VS TOOTHBull shark versus Oceanic whitetipOpen comparison →TOOTH VS TOOTHBull shark versus Great hammerheadOpen 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.

Start a ranked identification →