TOOTH PROFILE / LIVING

Oceanic whitetiptooth identification

Broad serrated upper tooth paired with a more pointed lower tooth serrated mainly near its tip.

LivingCarcharhinus longimanusLiving; fossil teeth also occur
FIELD VERDICT

Broad serrated upper tooth paired with a more pointed lower tooth serrated mainly near its tip.

Florida Museum specifically notes that teeth are easily confused with bull and dusky sharks.

01

ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE

Front, edge and jaw position.

FRONT / LABIAL VIEWEDGE / PROFILECOARSE 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
Broad triangle or Narrow dagger
Cutting edge
Coarse serrations or Fine serrations
Side cusplets
No side cusplets
Root
Wide / nearly flat root or Two distinct root lobes
Reference tooth height
About 10–36 mm, depending on age and jaw position
Jaw variation
Broad serrated uppers contrast with pointed, more lightly serrated lowers.
03

ECOLOGY + SCALE

The shark behind the tooth.

Habitat
Warm open-ocean waters, usually beyond the continental shelf.
Diet
Oceanic fishes, squid, seabirds, turtles and carrion.
Estimated shark size
Usually 2–3 m (6.5–10 ft); large females may be longer.
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.

The upper/lower contrast is useful when multiple associated teeth are available.

05

LOOKALIKES

Do not stop at the first match.

LivingBull sharkBroad, heavily serrated upper tooth or a narrower lower tooth with finer serrations.Compare visual profile →LivingSandbar sharkBroad, serrated high-cusped upper teeth; narrower and more finely serrated lowers.Compare visual profile →LivingDusky sharkBroad, slightly oblique serrated upper teeth with narrow, erect, finely serrated lower teeth.Compare visual profile →
06

DIRECT COMPARISONS

Put it beside its closest rival.

TOOTH VS TOOTHBull shark versus Oceanic whitetipOpen 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.

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