mormiston Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 (edited) I bought this shark jaw on ebay for my son who is a shark tooth collector for his birthday. I chose it b/c it was rather large and the teeth looked in great condition. However, the seller doesn't know what kind of shark it belonged to. The seller is from Wisconsin but I'm not sure where he got it from. It is 14" wide with 8" opening (according to seller). I'm attaching photos. Please help me identify this jaw for my son. Thanks for all your time! Edited August 5, 2013 by mormiston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 What a beauty. I bet your son would be wrapped with this gift! Looks like a Tiger Shark to me (Galeocerdo covieri): Tiger and Bull Shark teeth look superficially similar but upperTiger Shark teeth have a distinctive notch which yours seem to have. What do the experts think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Hi, It isn't Galeocerdo cuvieri, but a Charcharhinus genus. It is very difficult to say which one your jaw is, because this genus has more than 30 species ! Nevertheless, By looking at upper teeth (the only ones who allow to make the difference), I think it could be Carcharhinus wheeleri because they have a very small notch on each side of the tooth. I began a post on this subject here : http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/15407-let-me-see-your-recent-selachian-jaws/ And another interesting one : http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/10818-heterorodontie-of-selachians/ Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Thanks Coco - and thanks also for reminding us of the informative posts. I see now why I was so wrong! I didn't even notice how different the top and bottom sets of teeth are in Charcharhinus. Do these different jaw set-ups reflect different feeding strategies? The curved almost serated teeth appear like they might be good for slicing while the lower teeth would hold the prey in place. Interesting to think how different tooth structures between species and within the jaw of a single species might have evolved through time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Definitely agree with Coco that the jaw is from a Carcharhinus sp. shark. The upper teeth don't match the more commonly known Bull or Dusky shark teeth. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormiston Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 I'm getting conflicting information when I do the search for C. wheeleri , would that be a blacktail reef shark? I'm also getting hits on grey shark and others. Is this a normal or larger size for that type of shark being 14" wide? I'd like to get it mounted and a plate naming the type and approx. size of the shark that this belonged to. Thanks to everyone for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verydeadthings Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Identifying carcharhinus to species can be difficult. If you are interested in doing a bit of research, I would start with www.elasmo.com, Naylor and Marcus' paper (http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/handle/2246/4942//v2/dspace/ingest/pdfSource/nov/N3109.pdf?sequence=1), and finally Compagno's Sharks of the Order Carcharhiniformes for illustrations, if you have access to a college library. Carefully count the tooth positions and compare it to illustrations in the above sources. Good luck and let us know how it goes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormiston Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. I haven't received it yet as I just won it on auction, so I'll have to wait and see. I was just hoping since I know nothing about sharks, that some shark tooth expert out there could quickly identify it. I had no idea there were so many that were so similar in the same family. Is there a way to calculate the size of the shark? I'm also looking to buy a nice sized great white shark tooth and my son really wants a tooth from the whale shark and basking shark which are his favorites (other then the Megalodon of course) but I found out those are so tiny and had to get. Last year I bought him a Megalodon tooth for his birthday, and a Mako and a angustiden tooth for Christmas. He's getting a nice collection going. Love this site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormiston Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Ok, I took a look at elasmo.com that verydeadthings suggested, and it stated that the blacktail reef has 13 uppers on each side where looking at the auction photos it looks like mine has 16 on each side... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormiston Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Ok, after looking at more photos I'm thinking this could be the jaw of a silky or a copper shark. What do the shark experts here think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Please, put latin names, because I am not american. Silky shark = Carcharhinus falciformis Copper shark = Carcharhinus brachyurus I opened again my drawers where are my shark jaws. Yours could be a Carcharhinus falciformis. On mine, I have 16 teeth on a top mandible (1/2 jaw) and 16 on the bottom (= 2 X 16 at the too and 2 X 16 at the bottom). I think I don't have some Carcharhinus brachyurus jaw, I can't compare... Coco 1 ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormiston Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Sorry Coco, I'm a newbie here. I didn't realize we had to use Latin names. Thanks for your insight though. I bet your collection is amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 No problem Mormiston. Except the difficulty of the language, I am not certain that when we speak about a species with an English name, we speak all of the same species. Yet, in Latin, we speak NECESSARILY about the same shark. In France, a fish is differently called accodring to our régions, it isn't easy... And that why I never take into account fish names given by my fishmonger ! Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I'm also looking to buy a nice sized great white shark tooth and my son really wants a tooth from the whale shark and basking shark which are his favorites (other then the Megalodon of course) but I found out those are so tiny and had to get. Whale shark teeth are relatively common from the Lee Creek, NC spoil piles. Although, a lot of them are worn or damaged. A real nice one is not as common. Nice basking shark teeth are extremely common from Bakersfield CA. I see basking shark teeth from Bakersfield on e-bay a lot of times. I have seen whale shark teeth for sale here on the Forum. I would put a post here on the Forum for both the whale and basking shark teeth and I'm sure someone will be able to help you. We don't value fossils on the Forum but you should be able to get both species for a fairly low price. A nice sized great white can be very expensive depending on the size, condition and tooth shape. As the size goes up so does the price dramatically. Hopefully you will buy a fossil great white tooth versus a modern tooth. Although the great white tooth advertisements all say that the teeth were gotten legally before the worldwide bans, buying modern teeth does encourage illegal killing of a great species. That being said by far the cheapest modern great whites come from China., There are hundreds on e-bay. American sellers tend to sell their great whites at much higher prices. You really need to shop around and understand how tooth shape, tooth size and tooth condition effect tooth price. Again you might post on the forum that you want to purchase a nice "hopefully fossil" great white. However, don't buy anything until you have checked out the "buy now" prices on e-bay. You can not go by current auction prices because a lot of the bidding occurs in the last few minutes of the auction. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 As far as sales and trades on the Forum goes, posting in the Member Sales & Trades forum (the only place it is allowed) is a delayed-permission, available to well-established members. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormiston Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 Thanks for the great advice MarcoSr! You have been a lot of help. I had checked ebay and etsy a long time ago, but will do so again. He would be so thrilled to have those (whale and basking). Not sure how he will display/keep these. Maybe a small vial/bottle. Also thanks for letting me know about where to check for great white's. So far all he has are fossils. The jaw I just bought is the first modern tooth/teeth he will own. As Auspex stated, I can't check sales on this site yet, so I'll be looking into ebay. I hope his interest in marine biology will take him somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 As far as sales and trades on the Forum goes, posting in the Member Sales & Trades forum (the only place it is allowed) is a delayed-permission, available to well-established members. Sorry, I've been a member for a while and forgot about the fact that you need to make a certain number of posts before you can see and access the Member Sales & Trades forum. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Sorry, I've been a member for a while and forgot about the fact that you need to make a certain number of posts before you can see and access the Member Sales & Trades forum. Marco Sr. I appreciate the opportunity to post the occasional public reminder, since the "fine print" in the boilerplate is often overlooked "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormiston Posted August 8, 2013 Author Share Posted August 8, 2013 Any more suggestions on what shark my jaw might be from? I'm thinking ... Silky shark = Carcharhinus falciformis or Copper shark = Carcharhinus brachyurus Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to share your knowledge with me. I have been looking into these things for my son, but after reading up, and researching, not to mention watching shark week on the discovery channel, I have grown a huge interest in sharks myself! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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