Frilled shark Tooth Identification: Shape, Size & Lookalikes

FIELD VERDICT

Three long, slender, backward-curving cusps on a broad base, forming a trident-like tooth.

Fragile cusps break easily; incomplete teeth can resemble other primitive sharks.

ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE

Front, edge and jaw position.

Original TuffShark vector illustration. Trait emphasis is diagrammatic; it is not a specimen photograph or a substitute for an associated jaw.

IDENTIFICATION TRAITS

What to inspect.

Crown shape: Several cusps
Cutting edge: Smooth edge
Side cusplets: Several smaller cusps
Root: Wide / nearly flat root
Reference tooth height: About 5–18 mm, depending on age and jaw position
Jaw variation: Three-pronged teeth repeat through both jaws to trap soft prey.

ECOLOGY + SCALE

The shark behind the tooth.

Habitat: Deep outer shelves and continental slopes.
Diet: Squid, fishes and small sharks.
Estimated shark size: Usually 1.3–1.7 m (4–5.5 ft); maximum near 2 m.
Bite force: No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
Fossil occurrence: Chlamydoselachid teeth occur in Cretaceous and younger deposits.
Time range: Living; lineage extends deep into the fossil record

FUNCTION

Form follows feeding.

Rows of delicate multi-cusped teeth form a prey-trapping array rather than a broad cutting blade.

LOOKALIKES

Do not stop at the first match.

LivingBluntnose sixgillWide lower tooth with a tall leading cusp followed by a comb of smaller cusps.Compare visual profile →ExtinctHybodusOne central cusp with several smaller lateral cusps arranged on a broad base.Compare visual profile →

AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE

Smithsonian Ocean

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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