TOOTH PROFILE / LIVING

Lemon sharktooth identification

Narrow smooth-edged cusp with fine serrations mostly confined to the base on upper teeth.

LivingNegaprion brevirostrisLiving; fossil teeth also occur
FIELD VERDICT

Narrow smooth-edged cusp with fine serrations mostly confined to the base on upper teeth.

If the base is worn away, the subtle basal serrations disappear and the tooth can resemble several other requiem sharks.

01

ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE

Front, edge and jaw position.

FRONT / LABIAL VIEWEDGE / PROFILESMOOTH EDGEPOSITION CHANGES SHAPE● ANTERIOR● LATERALTUFFSHARK ORIGINAL TOOTH PLATEDIAGRAMMATIC · NOT TO SCALE
Original TuffShark vector illustration. Trait emphasis is diagrammatic; it is not a specimen photograph or a substitute for an associated jaw.
02

IDENTIFICATION TRAITS

What to inspect.

Crown shape
Narrow dagger or Hooked blade
Cutting edge
Smooth edge or Fine serrations
Side cusplets
No side cusplets
Root
Two distinct root lobes
Reference tooth height
About 8–30 mm, depending on age and jaw position
Jaw variation
Upper teeth have basal serrations; lower teeth are narrow and largely smooth.
03

ECOLOGY + SCALE

The shark behind the tooth.

Habitat
Warm shallow bays, mangroves, reefs and continental shelves.
Diet
Fishes, rays, crustaceans and occasional seabirds.
Estimated shark size
Usually 2.4–3 m (8–10 ft).
Bite force
No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
Fossil occurrence
Fossil teeth are reported, but isolated teeth may only be identifiable to genus or family.
Time range
Living; fossil teeth also occur
04

FUNCTION

Form follows feeding.

Lower teeth are narrow and smooth. Upper teeth become more oblique toward the corners of the mouth.

05

LOOKALIKES

Do not stop at the first match.

RELATED FORMBull shark lower toothUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike.
RELATED FORMSandbar lower toothUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike.
RELATED FORMSmall hammerheadsUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike.
06

DIRECT COMPARISONS

Put it beside its closest rival.

TOOTH VS TOOTHLemon shark versus Sandbar sharkOpen comparison →
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE

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.

Open source ↗
HAVE A TOOTH TO CHECK?

Put these traits into the identification flow.

Start a ranked identification →