Snaggeltooth
Hemipristis serra (Agassiz)

Age - Miocene  Commonality - Common

The upper and lower teeth of the snaggeltooth shark (Hemipristis serra) differ so much that in some early reference material they were listed as difference species. It is the upper anterior and lateral teeth, with their large serrations, designed for cutting that are so popular with collectors. The lower teeth have more of a clutching design. The serrations on the upper teeth reach almost to the point of the crown. On the lower anterior teeth, the serrations may be missing or appear as small irregular cusplets. These serrations become more regular and uniformed in the lower laterals, but unlike the uppers only reach about halfway down the crown. These teeth average about 1 inch, with a maximum size of about 1 1/2 inches.

A nice NJ "Hemi" upper lateral.
Monmouth County, NJ.
 

Lingual, labial and profile view of an upper lateral.            Monmouth County, NJ

Upper anterior tooth with the distinctive coarse serrations.

Calvert Cliffs, MD
 

In the lower anterior teeth, the serrations near the base of the crown show
 a wide degree of variation.
 In many cases they are completely absent.

Collected by Cris C. from Florida.
 

A collection of lowers
Monmouth County, NJ
A unique attribute of the lower teeth of Hemipristis serra is the presence
of a partial cutting edge.
See the cutting edge comparison page.
 

An assortment of Hemipristis serra teeth from Monmouth
County, NJ.
 

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