Narrow central cusp flanked by small side cusplets; edges are smooth to weakly serrated.
Cusplets can break away, making worn teeth resemble small requiem or sand-tiger teeth.
01
ORIGINAL VISUAL PLATE
Front, edge and jaw position.
02
IDENTIFICATION TRAITS
What to inspect.
- Crown shape
- Narrow dagger
- Cutting edge
- Smooth edge or Fine serrations
- Side cusplets
- One on each side
- Root
- Two distinct root lobes
- Reference tooth height
- About 5–20 mm, depending on age and jaw position
- Jaw variation
- Similar pointed cusped teeth in both jaws, often with small side cusplets.
03
ECOLOGY + SCALE
The shark behind the tooth.
- Habitat
- Indo-Pacific coral reefs, caves and ledges.
- Diet
- Reef fishes, octopus, lobsters and crabs.
- Estimated shark size
- Usually 1.2–1.7 m (4–5.5 ft); rarely larger.
- Bite force
- No reliable species-specific value is established; bite force changes with body size and bite point.
- Fossil occurrence
- Sparse; small teeth can be difficult to assign.
- Time range
- Living; sparse fossil record
04
FUNCTION
Form follows feeding.
The teeth are designed more for gripping reef prey than sawing. Upper and lower teeth are relatively similar.
05
LOOKALIKES
Do not stop at the first match.
LivingBlacktip reef sharkSmall, narrow triangular teeth with fine serrations; upper teeth are broader than lowers.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 →LivingNurse sharkSmall tooth with a central cusp flanked by several smaller cusplets on a broad base.Compare visual profile →
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCE
Open source ↗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.
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