4.3 cm black tooth from a Hemipristis serra

4.3 cm black tooth from a Hemipristis serra

The 4.3 cm tooth of the Hemipristis serra has shiny black enamel and wonderfully preserved sharp serrations. The matt tooth root is slightly eroded and dark brown. The tooth comes from the upper jaw of the shark. The Hemipristis serra was an impressive prehistoric shark from the Hemigaleidae family, which lived in tropical and subtropical seas from the Oligocene to the Pliocene. This species is particularly well known for its characteristic teeth, which are highly asymmetrical and saw-like. This shape gave it the English nickname ‘Snaggletooth Shark’. Hemipristis serra could probably reach a length of up to three metres. Its relationship to today's wobbegong-like sharks demonstrates the evolutionary diversity of requiem sharks.