Bull, Lemon, Tiger and Mako Shark Teeth: Features to Compare

A broad triangular tooth and a narrow pointed tooth can come from the same shark. Jaw position matters, and a beach-worn edge may have lost the detail that would distinguish similar species.

Use these comparisons to choose candidates for further study. They do not turn every loose tooth into a certain species identification. If you are new to crowns, roots and cusplets, start with the beginner's shark-tooth guide.

Bull shark: compare the upper and lower teeth

The Florida Museum's bull shark profile describes upper teeth of Carcharhinus leucas as broad triangles with strong serrations. Lower teeth are narrower, with a broad base and finer serrations. Teeth toward the front are more upright; those farther back become more slanted.

That makes “broad and serrated” a useful starting observation, not proof of bull shark. Other Carcharhinus species have similar teeth. Compare the root, crown proportions, edge detail and likely tooth position together.

Lemon shark: inspect the shoulders as well as the point

A lemon-shark candidate has a narrow, upright main cusp with smooth cutting edges. The shoulders beside that cusp can carry fine serrations: “the entire tooth must be smooth” is too simple.

The 2025 study of Venice fossil sharks and rays describes this combination in Negaprion brevirostris. Its illustrated upper and lower teeth also show why one outline cannot represent every position in the jaw.

For a bull-versus-lemon comparison, look closely at intact cutting edges and shoulders. If those areas are worn away, keep both possibilities open rather than deciding from the silhouette alone.

Tiger shark: a hooked profile with a pronounced notch

Look for a strongly slanted cusp and a notch separating it from the rear shoulder. In living tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, large serrations can themselves carry smaller serrations.

Research on tiger-shark dentition also documents changes with growth and tooth position. Upper and lower teeth are not perfectly identical. Fossil tiger-shark relatives add further possibilities, so a hooked fossil tooth should not automatically receive the living species' name.

Mako and hastalis: untangle the labels

The name “fossil mako” can conceal an important distinction. The Florida Museum's hastalis account uses Carcharodon hastalis for an extinct shark historically called Isurus hastalis; Cosmopolitodus hastalis is another classification used in scientific literature.

Hastalis upper teeth are broadly triangular with smooth cutting edges. Lower teeth are narrower. Shortfin mako teeth, Isurus oxyrinchus, generally have much narrower, more curved crowns and longer root lobes in this comparison.

Shortfin mako teeth also occur as Florida fossils. “Mako” does not mean recent, and “fossil” does not automatically mean hastalis. Consult the specimen illustrations rather than treating these names as interchangeable.

Record the evidence and the uncertainty

Photograph both faces, the edge and the root beside a scale. Record where the tooth was found and the features you can actually see. A note such as “possible lemon shark; shoulder detail worn” is more useful than an unsupported confident label.

For difficult finds, compare museum specimens or seek a specialist's opinion. Keep a broader identification when the evidence does not support a species. The find-photography guide explains how to capture the details that help.