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Any thoughts appreciated on the following. I've been working with some material from the Old Church Formation, including previously undescribed sites. The following tooth is from that work. It has most of the characteristics of an early Hemipristis curvatus (Or Hemipristis serra, if you follow Muller). Muller reports two possible teeth that are close to this shape from the Old Church: early Hemipristis serra and Galeorhinus aff galeus. What follows are three photos. 1) The tooth I found and am hoping to identify, 2) a Hemipristis serra from Muller, 1999 and 3) a Galeorhinus aff galeus from Muller, 1999. I lean strongly towards H. serra, but the tooth lacks serrations on the mesial edge. This makes me think that it may be a very early transitional or that there are some positional distinctions that I've not picked up on. The root and distal edge are much more consistent with H. serra. 1) The tooth I found and am hoping to identify (scale box=5mm): 2) a Hemipristis serra from Muller, 1999 3) a Galeorhinus aff galeus from Muller, 1999 (teeth labelled 1a, 2 and 1b) Full citation for photos 2 and 3: Müller, A. (1999). Ichthyofaunen aus dem atlantischen Tertiär der USA. Institut für Geophysik und Geologie. @Gizmo

As I understand, Hemipristis serra is the extinct species which has left teeth in western Florida. When someone refers to fossil "snaggletooth shark" I assume they are from Hemipristis serra. However, when I look up snaggletooth shark, I am referred to the modern Hemipristis elongata and not serra. Is it technically correct to call H serra "snaggletooth"? Are there other species of fossil shark teeth called "snaggletooth"? Just curious.

I got this tooth a few years ago at a local fossil store, and I was wondering if anyone could give me guidance as to whether it is a H. serra or H. curvatus tooth. The serrations on the mesial side are extremely weak compared to those of some of my H. serra teeth, but they are still there. HEM.bmp