Compressed, triangular to oblique blade with strong serrations and a compact two-lobed root.
Local rock age is often more diagnostic than the outline alone because similar tooth shapes evolved repeatedly.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Hooked blade or Broad triangle
- Cutting edge
- Coarse serrations
- Side cusplets
- No side cusplets
- Root
- Two distinct root lobes or Wide / nearly flat root
- Reference tooth height
- About 10–42 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Front teeth are more erect; laterals become strongly oblique.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Late Cretaceous coastal and open marine waters.
- Diet
- Fishes, marine reptiles and carrion inferred from teeth and bite traces.
- Estimated shark size
- Many species were roughly 2–5 m (6.5–16 ft); estimates vary by species.
- Bite force
- Not directly measurable.
- Fossil occurrence
- Common Late Cretaceous teeth on multiple continents.
- Time range
- Late Cretaceous
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
Many teeth have a crow-shark outline reminiscent of a small modern tiger or requiem-shark tooth.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
ExtinctSnaggletooth sharkUpper teeth are broad, dramatically hooked and coarsely serrated; lowers are narrower with hooked tips.Compare visual profile →LivingTiger sharkA strongly curved, can-opener profile with a deep outer notch and compound serrations.Compare visual profile →RELATED FORMRequiem sharksUse jaw position, locality, age and associated teeth to test this lookalike.
06
DIRECT COMPARISONS
Put it beside its closest rival.
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗Paleobiology Database
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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