Florida shark tooth ID

[SomethingIsFishy]

I recently purchased a sharks tooth from florida. I believe it is from the miocene epoch. Although it doesn't look like it in the picture, it has cerrated edges. (don't mind my bad camera)

[Shellseeker]

I think you might have Bull or Dusky tooth...  They are hard to tell apart...

Here is Bull:

 

Here is a Dusky...  C. obscurus.  Here is a good site if you are trying to tell the differences:

http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=heim/leecreek/lc-carch_large.html&menu=bin/menu_topics-alt.html

[SomethingIsFishy]

Now looking at it, I think it is a bull shark tooth. Thanks for the help!

[hemipristis]

Hard to be positive bc of the blurry photo, but it is the most likely suspect. In Florida, bulls significantly outnumber duskies. Caribbean reef sharks are also common. 
Some checks:

* Tooth is relatively symmetrical with a mostly vertical blade and without significant recurvature towards the tip. Duskies and Caribbean reef sharks (the other two common species—there are a few other species but they are rare.) are not symmetrical, and the latter tend to have a notch on one side of the blade as it transitions to the shoulder.

* Location of the nutrient pore at or below the widest part of the root (ie away from the blade). With duskies it is at or above.

* Generally uniform-ish, simple serrations. Duskies can have complex and varied serrations.

 

Note the frequent use of caveats. Carcharhinus teeth are variable/inconsistent, and very similar between species. They’re a bugger to ID most of the time. I’ve spent way too many hours trying to learn the nuances, and still 30-50% of my Carcharhinus teeth are listed in my collection as Carcharhinus sp.

[hemipristis]

8 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

Here is a Dusky...  C. obscurus.  Here is a good site if you are trying to tell the differences:

http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=heim/leecreek/lc-carch_large.html&menu=bin/menu_topics-alt.html

hi there @Shellseeker (I apologize, I do not know your name!)  The tooth shown isn’t a dusky.  Looks to be C. falciformis

[hemipristis]

Some elasmo.com duskies:

 

[hemipristis]

And here for comparison is the other common larger Carcharhinus suspect, C. perezii, the Caribbean reef shark:

Edited December 27, 2022 by hemipristis

[Shellseeker]

2 hours ago, hemipristis said:

hi there @Shellseeker (I apologize, I do not know your name!)  The tooth shown isn’t a dusky.  Looks to be C. falciformis

Keith.  First name is Jack. Thanks for this post.. It is chock full of information for Florida shark teeth hunters. I have come to a level where I think ?? I can differentiate Bull from Dusky most times, but those odd ones, the Silky and Reef shark teeth go into my "other"  Carcharhinus teeth....meaning that they are mostly beyond my identification power or I incorrectly ID as Bull or Dusky.

 

[SomethingIsFishy]

Thanks for the help. Looking at the fossil, I don't think the serrations are big enough or defined enough for it to be a duskie. The shape is also a perfect match for the bull shark. Thank you for the help.