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Neonatal Great White Shark Tooth
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By ThePhysicist
Taxonomy
Great White Shark
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Lamnidae
Genus: Carcharodon
Species: Carcharodon carcharias
Author Citation Linneas, 1758
Geological Time Scale
Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Cenozoic
Period: Neogene
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Pliocene
Stratigraphy
Pisco Formation
Provenance
Acquired by: Purchase/Trade
Dimensions
Height: 21 mm
Location
Sacaco
Departamento de Arequipa
Peru
- arequipa
- carcharodon
- carcharodon carcharias
- great white
- great white shark
- neonate
- neonate great white
- newborn great white
- p(p)cc3
- peru
- pisco
- sacaco
- white shark
Comments
Identification
Teeth of Carcharodon carcharias may be identified by triangular crowns with no nutrient groove in the root, no lingual dental band ("bourlette"), and irregular triangular serrations on the edges. Teeth of neonatal individuals (newborn/young of the year) possess small lateral "cusplets," with a deep "V" profile made by the root lobes, and are more narrow than adult teeth1. This narrow tooth form with cusplets is suited for the great white's piscivorous (fish-dominated) diet at a young age.
Comments
This is an exceptional upper right lateral tooth from a newborn or full-term embryo great white ( ~ 1.5 m / 5 ft total length). This tooth was exported from Peru prior to 1990.
References
1. Tomita, T., Miyamoto, K., Kawaguchi, A., Toda, M., Oka, S.-I., Nozu, R. and Sato, K. (2017), Dental ontogeny of a white shark embryo. Journal of Morphology, 278: 215-227. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.20630
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