These teeth overlap in both broad form and edge treatment. Root proportions, jaw position, size, age and locality must carry more weight than silhouette alone.
Slender, smooth-edged crown that often flexes or curves, with no side cusplets.
Smooth, narrow lamnid tooth; generally broader and less strongly flexed than comparable shortfin-mako teeth.
Narrow dagger / Hooked blade
Narrow dagger / Hooked blade
Smooth edge
Smooth edge
No side cusplets
No side cusplets
Rounded U-shaped root / Two distinct root lobes
Rounded U-shaped root / Two distinct root lobes
12–52 mm reference range
10–45 mm reference range
Anterior teeth are slender and flexed; laterals become broader and flatter.
Anterior teeth are narrow; lateral teeth broaden, with heavy overlap with shortfin mako.
Temperate and tropical offshore waters worldwide.
Tropical and warm-temperate offshore waters.
Fast fishes, squid and occasionally other sharks or marine mammals.
Pelagic fishes and squid.
Commonly 2–3.2 m (6.5–10.5 ft); exceptional individuals are larger.
Commonly 2.2–3 m (7–10 ft); confirmed maximums are uncertain.
No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
Fossil teeth are reported, but isolated teeth may only be identifiable to genus or family.
Sparse; isolated Isurus teeth may not be species-identifiable.
A single worn tooth may be difficult to separate from extinct makos, threshers and some sand-tiger relatives.
Body characters—not an isolated tooth—are usually needed to separate living longfin and shortfin makos confidently.
Illustrations are original TuffShark diagrams, not photographs taken from either reference.
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