Snaggletooth Shark Top Rear Tooth ID#31

Common Name: Snaggletooth Shark

Scientific Name: Hemipristis serra

Epoch:Miocene, Pliocene

Fossil Type: Top Rear Tooth

Fossil Size: 1.06 Inches 2.7 cm

Location Found: Florida

Info about Hemipristis

    The Hemipristis genus dates back to the eocene with species such as H. curvatus. The genus has only one extant (living) member H. elongata which gets to approximately 240cm (7.87ft), and primarily consumes fish, crustaceans, & cephalopods. (This species has not caused any known shark attacks). Its extinct relative H. serra however, got to well over 20ft in size and dined on large aquatic mammals such as dugongs and dolphins.

References

Chaskar, K., Sagar, R., Padia, D. J., MS, A., Chauhan, G., K, P., … Thakkar, M. (2025). New record of selachian (shark) fauna from the early Miocene (Aquitanian) of Kachchh region (western India): palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographic significance. Historical Biology, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2540449

Hemipristis Serra. Panama Canal Project (PCP PIRE). (n.d.). https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/panama-pire/fossils/gatun/hemipristis-serra/

Jambura, P. L., Pfaff, C., Underwood, C. J., Ward, D. J., & Kriwet, J. (n.d.). Tooth mineralization and histology patterns in extinct and extant snaggletooth sharks, Hemipristis (carcharhiniformes, hemigaleidae)-evolutionary significance or ecological adaptation?. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0200951

Snaggletooth Shark - Sharkwater extinction. (n.d.). https://www.sharkwater.com/shark-database/sharks/snaggletooth-shark/

Species implicated in attacks. International Shark Attack File. (n.d.). https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/factors/species-implicated/