Home >> Science & Nature >> Animals & Science

How to Identify a Tiger Shark Tooth for Sale

Identifying a shark tooth isn't difficult. They all have a similar, three-sided shape. Identifying exactly what kind of shark a shark tooth came from is not always so easy, and one being sold as a "tiger shark tooth" may or may not really be from a tiger shark. To check that you are really getting what you paid for, look at some of the identifying characteristics of tiger shark teeth. Their teeth, unlike some shark teeth, are distinctive. Even outside of the shark the teeth look like what they are -- powerful and quite dangerous.

Instructions

- 1
  View a picture of a tiger shark tooth, widely available online and in guidebooks to sharks. This is the best way to know what to look for.
- 2
  Examine the shape of the tooth. Two of the three edges of a tiger shark tooth are concave, and one of these has an obvious notch in it. The third side is convex. You can instantly rule out near-perfect triangles and slender t-shapes. These do not come from tiger sharks.
- 3
  Look for serrations. One of the concave sides of the tooth, the one without a definite notch is the cusp and has no serrations. The pointed concave side is partially jaggedly serrated and partly serrated slightly more smoothly. The third, convex side is the blade and serrated evenly along the entire length.

Animals & Science