The strongest separator is the cutting edge. Confirm it against the root and jaw-position notes before naming an isolated tooth.
Flat, broad triangular blade with coarse serrations and no lateral cusplets.
Broad, flat triangular crown like a white shark—but with completely smooth cutting edges.
Broad triangle
Broad triangle
Coarse serrations
Smooth edge
No side cusplets
No side cusplets
Deep V-shaped root / Wide / nearly flat root
Deep V-shaped root / Wide / nearly flat root
18–76 mm reference range
18–70 mm reference range
Upper teeth are broad cutting triangles; lower teeth are narrower and more erect.
Smooth broad uppers resemble unserrated white-shark teeth; lowers are narrower.
Temperate and subtropical coastal and offshore waters.
Miocene–Pliocene temperate and warm offshore seas.
Fishes, rays, seals, sea lions and carrion; diet changes with age.
Large fishes and marine mammals are inferred.
Large adults commonly 4–5 m (13–16 ft); exceptional individuals exceed 6 m.
Often estimated around 5–7 m (16–23 ft), depending on method and specimen.
Up to about 18,000 N predicted for a very large individual in a computer model—not measured in a living shark.
Not directly measurable; published body-size estimates do not yield a verified bite force.
Teeth occur from the Pliocene to Recent and may be mineral stained.
Common in Miocene–Pliocene marine deposits.
Position in the jaw changes the outline substantially. Fossil great-white teeth may be dark or mineral stained.
Worn white-shark serrations can imitate a smooth edge; inspect both edges with magnification.
Illustrations are original TuffShark diagrams, not photographs taken from either reference.
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