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snaggletooth shark


Jdeutsch

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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.

 

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If you want to be technically correct, refer to the shark as "Hemipristis serra."  I've always recoiled at that common name, "snaggletooth" . . . much too inelegant for the extraordinary teeth of this shark.

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If we're being scientific, it's technically correct to 

refer to Hemipristis serra as Hemipristis serra and Hemipristis elongata as Hemipristis elongata. H. serra is extinct, and H. elongata isn't. Yes, they're both referred to as snaggletooth sharks, but that's a good example of why common names are often meaningless.

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The "InvertebrateMe" blog
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There is also an extinct Eocene / Early Oligocene species; Hemipristis curvatus. 

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Referring to it as "Snaggletooth" is a FAMILY GENUS reference, like Mako or White shark. There can be many members in a family genus.

 

 

 

 

Edited to correct senior moment.

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Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

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34 minutes ago, ynot said:

Referring to it as "Snaggletooth" is a FAMILY reference, like Mako or White shark. There can be many members in a family.

 

I'm not sure I'm convinced by that. There are eight species and four genera in the family that includes Hemipristis, but Hemipristis is the only one known as a "snaggletooth" shark. At the very least, it's imprecise -- and potentially confusing to the extent that "Family" has a precise taxonomic meaning.

_________________________________
Wendell Ricketts
Fossil News: The Journal of Avocational Paleontology
http://fossilnews.org
https://twitter.com/Fossil_News

The "InvertebrateMe" blog
http://invertebrateme.wordpress.com

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15 hours ago, Wendell Ricketts said:

 

I'm not sure I'm convinced by that. There are eight species and four genera in the family that includes Hemipristis, but Hemipristis is the only one known as a "snaggletooth" shark. At the very least, it's imprecise -- and potentially confusing to the extent that "Family" has a precise taxonomic meaning.

My bad, I meant genus not family.

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

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