Shark Tooth Identification

[jacob]

I've had this tooth in my collection since I was a young boy, it was purchased my a family member. I have no clue as to what species it is or where it comes from, though I presume it is from the states. Help would be very much appreciated thanks,

Jacob.

[Fossildude19]

Looks like a Hemipristis serra to me.

Let's see what the tooth experts have to say.

Regards,

Edited April 8, 2015 by Fossildude19

[jcbshark]

Looks like an upper hemi : )

[finderskeepers]

Agreed: Snaggletooth shark Hemipristis serra definitely upper and it sure looks similar to ones from across the pond east coast U.S. but I'm only judging by coloration and that is not very scientific at all. A nice tooth for any collection.

[jacob]

Hey, thanks guys! I had a look on black river fossils and thought it may have been a Hemi, just didn't want to jump to any conclusions as I'm no expert.

[Paleoc]

It's a Hemipristis serra (snaggletooth) from the East Coast USA, but exact location is a little harder to pin down.

[Diceros]

Yup, everyone's right - it's a left upper lateral tooth of the snaggletooth shark Hemipristis serra Agassiz, 1843, in lingual view. The lower teeth look very different, and are much narrower. Although H. serra ranges from the lt. Olig. to the lt. Pliocene, your tooth is most likely lt. Miocene. On the East Coast, most have been found in Maryland, North Carolina, and Florida. Oddly, the fossil shark H. serra was named almost 30 years before the modern H. elongatus (still living in the Indian Ocean today) was named.