One central cusp with several smaller lateral cusps arranged on a broad base.
Hybodus is a broad historical genus and many specimens have been reassigned; this result may be lineage-level only.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
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 5–35 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Pointed grasping and flatter crushing teeth may occur in one dentition.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Triassic–Cretaceous marine and freshwater environments, varying by species.
- Diet
- Fishes and hard-shelled invertebrates inferred from mixed dentitions.
- Estimated shark size
- Often around 2 m (6.5 ft), although the traditional genus includes varied forms.
- Bite force
- Not directly measurable.
- Fossil occurrence
- Hybodont teeth and fin spines are common across Mesozoic deposits.
- Time range
- Triassic–Cretaceous
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
Hybodont teeth vary with feeding role, but many show the classic symmetrical multi-cusped crown.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingNurse sharkSmall tooth with a central cusp flanked by several smaller cusplets on a broad base.Compare visual profile →RELATED FORMCow sharksUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike. RELATED FORMOther hybodontsUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike.
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗Natural History 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.
HAVE A TOOTH TO CHECK?
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