Relatively small, smooth, compressed blade that becomes oblique in lateral positions.
A confident single-tooth thresher identification usually needs locality, age or associated teeth.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Narrow dagger or Hooked blade
- Cutting edge
- Smooth edge
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Two distinct root lobes or Rounded U-shaped root
- Reference tooth height
- About 8–32 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Small smooth anterior teeth grade into short oblique laterals.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Temperate and subtropical coastal and offshore waters.
- Diet
- Schooling fishes and squid, stunned with the elongated tail.
- Estimated shark size
- Commonly 3–5 m (10–16 ft) including the very long tail.
- 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 also occur
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
Thresher teeth are modest for the animal's body size and can overlap with makos and other lamniforms.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingShortfin makoSlender, smooth-edged crown that often flexes or curves, with no side cusplets.Compare visual profile →ExtinctBroad-toothed makoBroad, flat triangular crown like a white shark—but with completely smooth cutting edges.Compare visual profile →RELATED FORMSmall lamniformsUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike.
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.
HAVE A TOOTH TO CHECK?
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