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
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 height
- roughly 18–76 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Time
- Living; fossil teeth also occur
02
WHY IT LOOKS THIS WAY
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.
03
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 profile →LivingBull sharkBroad, heavily serrated upper tooth or a narrower lower tooth with finer serrations.Compare profile →ExtinctBroad-toothed makoBroad, flat triangular crown like a white shark—but with completely smooth cutting edges.Compare profile →
PRIMARY / AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗Florida Museum
Use the source alongside collection locality and geologic age. A photograph alone cannot establish provenance.
HAVE A TOOTH TO CHECK?
Start a ranked identification →