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Here is a Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810 (Sandtiger Shark) jaw from my collection. The jaw is 14.5 inches wide by 12.5 inches high. Odontaspididae has two extant genera, Carcharias and Odontaspis, with three species total, Carcharias taurus (Sandtiger Shark), Odontaspis ferox (Smalltooth Sandtiger) and Odontaspis noronhai (Bigeye Sandtiger) Ebert 2013. Fossil sandtiger shark teeth are very common worldwide with a good number of fossil genera and species of teeth that can be very difficult to id to the exact species. Below are pictures from Compagno 1984 VOL. 4 “SHARKS OF THE WORLD An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes” showing all three extant sandtiger species. Eugomphodus taurus (aka Carcharias taurus): Odontaspis ferox: Odontaspis noronhai: Below is a key to sandtiger genera from Compagno 1984: Note that there is a very easy way to tell extant Carcharias from Odontaspis jaws. Carcharias jaws have 3 rows (aka files with most US researchers) of large upper anterior teeth on each side of the symphysis before the intermediate teeth and Odontaspis jaws have only 2 rows (aka files)of large upper anterior teeth on each side of the symphysis before the intermediate teeth. There are other diagnostic features in the teeth but this is the surest method to tell the genera apart. Below is a rather grainy picture of an Odontaspis taurus (aka Carcharias taurus) from Bass 1975 IV “The families Odontaspididae, Scapanorhynchidae, Isuridae, Cetorhinidae, Alopiidae, Orectolobidae and Rhiniodontidae”. I’ve included this plate because the tooth features (i.e. a single cusplet on each side of the crown) and number of teeth in the dentition closely match my jaw. But also because it shows two additional teeth, a female tooth with two cusplets on each side of the main tooth crown, and a tooth from a late embryo showing no cusplets. So the number of cusplets on Carcharias teeth can vary: I’m showing the below picture from Purdy 2006 “A Key to the Common Genera of Neogene Shark Teeth” for two reasons. First I use the same terminology in naming the tooth positions in my pictures below. Note however I feel that it is somewhat arbitrary where the change from the last lateral to the first posterior tooth takes place in the dentition. Also to show Carcharias taurus teeth with two cusplets on each side of the crown unlike the teeth in my jaw with only a single cusplet on each side of the crown. Dentition of Carcharias taurus.(s symphyseal tooth, A a anterior tooth, I intermediate tooth, L l lateral tooth, P p posterior tooth) The number indicates the tooth’s position in a tooth series: Here is the overall jaw (14.5 inches wide by 12.5 inches high): Carcharias taurus jaws have symphyseal teeth in the lower jaw symphysis but no symphyseal teeth in the upper jaw symphysis. Below are pictures of the upper jaw anterior teeth. (note that there are three files of upper anterior teeth on each side of the symphysis before the intermediate teeth which is diagnostic to distinguish extant Carcharias taurus jaws from extant Odontaspis jaws). UL A1, UR A1: UL A2, UR A2: UL A3, UR A3: Below are pictures of the upper jaw intermediate teeth. UL I1, UR I1 & 2 Continued in next reply Marco Sr.
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