Slender smooth central cusp with a small cusplet on each side and a strongly two-lobed root.
Salmon shark and fossil Lamna teeth may not be separable from a single tooth without provenance.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Narrow dagger
- Cutting edge
- Smooth edge
- Side cusplets
- One on each side
- Root
- Two distinct root lobes or Rounded U-shaped root
- Reference tooth height
- About 8–32 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Slender main cusps with paired cusplets; upper and lower positions vary in breadth.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Cold-temperate North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere waters.
- Diet
- Schooling fishes and squid.
- Estimated shark size
- Usually 1.8–2.5 m (6–8 ft); maximum near 3 m.
- 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 occur
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
The paired lateral cusplets are the key contrast with most mako teeth, although juvenile and worn teeth can blur the difference.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingSalmon sharkSmooth, pointed lamnid tooth with paired basal cusplets, closely resembling the porbeagle.Compare visual profile →LivingSand tiger sharkLong, slender smooth-edged cusp with a small cusplet on each side and a two-lobed root.Compare visual profile →LivingShortfin makoSlender, smooth-edged crown that often flexes or curves, with no side cusplets.Compare visual profile →
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗NOAA Fisheries
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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