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Lemon Shark Tooth

Negaprion brevirostris

Markings and exact colorations may vary.

A narrow, smooth-edged tooth with a broad triangular root.

Typical size
Half an inch to 1 inch
How often it turns up
Common
Collecting
Usually legal to collect

Shed and fossil teeth on open public beaches are usually fine to pick up, but state parks, national seashores and wildlife refuges don't allow collecting.

Handling
Sharp edges

Tip is sharp.

How to tell it apart

  • Narrow, slightly curved blade
  • Smooth cutting edge with no serrations
  • Wide flat root

Where to find these in Florida

Beaches rated very good or excellent for shark teeth. Each page shows today’s score, the best window and access details.

Found one?

Photograph it and BeachNut ranks the likely matches with a confidence read, then logs it to your collection with the beach and date.

Identify it from a photoCollect responsibly

Browsing beaches and the full field guide is free. A free account logs unlimited finds and gives you three photo identifications a day.

Commonly confused with

  • Sand Tiger Shark ToothCarcharias taurus

    Sand tiger teeth have two small side cusps at the base. Lemon teeth do not.

  • Bull Shark ToothCarcharhinus leucas

    Bull teeth are broad and serrated. Lemon teeth are narrow with smooth cutting edges.

  • Angel Shark ToothSquatina species

    A smooth, narrow cusp alone doesn't make it an angel shark tooth: lemon shark teeth look similar, and upper lemon teeth can have finely serrated bases. Angel shark teeth are thicker front-to-back.

More shark teeth in the field guide

Browse every shark teeth in the guide

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