Flat, broad triangular blade with coarse serrations and no lateral cusplets.
Position in the jaw changes the outline substantially. Fossil great-white teeth may be dark or mineral stained.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Broad triangle
- Cutting edge
- Coarse serrations
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Deep V-shaped root or Wide / nearly flat root
- Reference tooth height
- About 18–76 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Upper teeth are broad cutting triangles; lower teeth are narrower and more erect.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Temperate and subtropical coastal and offshore waters.
- Diet
- Fishes, rays, seals, sea lions and carrion; diet changes with age.
- Estimated shark size
- Large adults commonly 4–5 m (13–16 ft); exceptional individuals exceed 6 m.
- Bite force
- Up to about 18,000 N predicted for a very large individual in a computer model—not measured in a living shark. Research source ↗
- Fossil occurrence
- Teeth occur from the Pliocene to Recent and may be mineral stained.
- Time range
- Living; fossil teeth also occur
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
Upper teeth are broader and more triangular; lower teeth are narrower. The crown is usually thinner and the root less massive than a megalodon tooth.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
ExtinctMegalodonMassive triangular crown, regular serrations, thick root and often a visible bourlette between crown and root.Compare visual profile →LivingBull sharkBroad, heavily serrated upper tooth or a narrower lower tooth with finer serrations.Compare visual profile →ExtinctBroad-toothed makoBroad, flat triangular crown like a white shark—but with completely smooth cutting edges.Compare visual profile →
06
DIRECT COMPARISONS
Put it beside its closest rival.
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗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.
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