Triangular, strongly serrated crown that becomes increasingly oblique toward the jaw corners.
Large requiem-shark teeth can be nearly indistinguishable without a known jaw position or associated teeth.
01
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Broad triangle or Hooked blade
- Cutting edge
- Coarse serrations
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Two distinct root lobes or Wide / nearly flat root
- Reference height
- roughly 8–32 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Time
- Living; fossil teeth also occur
02
WHY IT LOOKS THIS WAY
Form follows feeding.
Front teeth can look fairly erect while lateral teeth lean backward. A wide root and strong serrations fit many hammerhead teeth.
03
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingBull sharkBroad, heavily serrated upper tooth or a narrower lower tooth with finer serrations.Compare profile →LivingSandbar sharkBroad, serrated high-cusped upper teeth; narrower and more finely serrated lowers.Compare profile →LivingOceanic whitetipBroad serrated upper tooth paired with a more pointed lower tooth serrated mainly near its tip.Compare profile →
PRIMARY / AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗Florida Museum
Use the source alongside collection locality and geologic age. A photograph alone cannot establish provenance.
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