TOOTH PROFILE / LIVING

Dusky sharktooth identification

Broad, slightly oblique serrated upper teeth with narrow, erect, finely serrated lower teeth.

LivingCarcharhinus obscurusLiving; fossil teeth occur
FIELD VERDICT

Broad, slightly oblique serrated upper teeth with narrow, erect, finely serrated lower teeth.

Exact identification of an isolated upper tooth is often unsafe; bull and oceanic whitetip are major confusers.

01

ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE

Front, edge and jaw position.

FRONT / LABIAL VIEWEDGE / PROFILECOARSE 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
Coarse serrations or Fine serrations
Side cusplets
No side cusplets
Root
Wide / nearly flat root or Two distinct root lobes
Reference tooth height
About 8–36 mm, depending on age and jaw position
Jaw variation
Broad serrated uppers and narrow finely serrated lowers.
03

ECOLOGY + SCALE

The shark behind the tooth.

Habitat
Warm-temperate and tropical continental shelves and offshore waters.
Diet
Fishes, sharks, rays, cephalopods and crustaceans.
Estimated shark size
Commonly 2.5–3.5 m (8–11.5 ft); large animals approach 4 m.
Bite force
No comparable whole-jaw species-wide value is established for this guide.
Fossil occurrence
Fossil teeth are reported, but isolated teeth may only be identifiable to genus or family.
Time range
Living; fossil teeth occur
04

FUNCTION

Form follows feeding.

The upper tooth shoulder and crown proportions change across the jaw and overlap with several large Carcharhinus species.

05

LOOKALIKES

Do not stop at the first match.

LivingBull sharkBroad, heavily serrated upper tooth or a narrower lower tooth with finer serrations.Compare visual profile →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 →
06

DIRECT COMPARISONS

Put it beside its closest rival.

TOOTH VS TOOTHBull shark versus Dusky sharkOpen 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.

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