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sharks are among the most capable and notorious predators in the sea and are often described as bloodthirsty killers. Perhaps one of the most terrifying sights on Earth is the sight of a shark with its mouth open ready to attack. They have a devastating brute strength and an incredible bite power that is among the highest in the world. But with that power comes row after row of terrifying teeth, perfectly designed to tear and shred their prey. Join us and discover everything you need to know about shark teeth.
Types of shark teeth
There are four different types of shark teeth and which type a shark has depends largely on their diet.
Dense flattened teeth – these are especially common in sharks that live at the bottom of the ocean, such as: nurse sharks. This is because bottom sharks often feed on scratch, turtles, and shellfish. Therefore, flattened teeth are particularly useful for breaking open shells.
Needle-like teeth – these are so named because they are long and extremely sharp. These teeth are especially useful for gripping small or medium-sized fish, calamari, and even small sharks. The long and sharp teeth make it easier to hold fish with narrow bodies. Sharks that have these teeth are the bull shark which is best known for its ability to survive in fresh water habitats such as rivers and lakes.
Pointed lower teeth and triangular upper teeth – this type is most effective for biting larger prey – such as: seals, dolphins, and whales. This tooth combination has serrated edges that are used to cut prey into smaller pieces that are easier to swallow. Sharks with these teeth are the infamous great white shark and oceanic whitetips — both of which are responsible for many deadly attacks on humans.
Non-functional teeth – the latter type are non-functional teeth present in filter feeding sharks – to enjoy, whale, and megamouth sharks. These sharks mainly feed on plankton and other small organisms. Filter feeders don’t use their teeth at all, hence the term “non-functional teeth”. Instead, these sharks open their mouths wide and swim toward their prey. The tiny organisms are sucked in, the water is filtered out, and their prey is swallowed. Despite their enormous size, these sharks are considered harmless because they do not bite.
How many teeth do sharks have?
Sharks can cement their position as one of the best predators because of their ability to constantly replace their teeth. On average, sharks have between 50 and 300 teeth at a time. Sharks don’t have just one row of teeth like most animals, they even have many rows. When the old tooth falls out, the new tooth behind it just replaces it – like a constant conveyor of teeth!
Shark teeth are made of dentin which is extremely strong, but they have no roots to hold them in. Instead, their teeth are in their gums. The lack of roots makes them fall off easily, especially combined with the wear and tear they incur as the shark bites and grabs its prey.
Shark teeth are counted in rows along their jawline and arrays from the outside of the jaw inward. On average, sharks have fifteen rows and five sets of teeth, so up to 300 teeth at a time. However, some sharks have many, many more teeth. bull sharks can have seven series and up to fifty rows of teeth – so about 350 teeth at a time, making them even more formidable.
Most sharks lose several teeth per week, but the actual rate of tooth loss depends on what they eat. Once the old tooth is lost, the new one usually emerges within a day to take its place. Incredibly, given that some sharks can live for 30 years, they can endure more than 20,000 teeth in their lifetime.
bite force
Besides their teeth, one of the most important factors for a shark is their bite force. One of the main reasons they have such a powerful bite is their jaw. Most animals have an upper jaw attached to their skull, but sharks do not. Instead, their upper jaw sits under their skull and can be detached when they attack their prey. This means that they can use their entire mouth to grab their prey. Most sharks drop their lower teeth in first and then drop their upper jaws.
Because sharks have a uniquely adapted jaw, they have a very, very powerful bite. Great White Sharks are widely accepted as the second highest bite force in the world after saltwater crocodiles. However, there has been some debate recently about which shark has the greatest bite force – great whites or bull sharks.
although great whites are generally greater than bull sharks, so will always literally have a bigger bite, pound for pound bull sharks might just have the edge. A direct comparison found that a 9 foot long bull shark had a bite of 478 pounds while an 8 foot long shark had a bite of 478 pounds great white had a 360 lb bite. This proves that pound for pound bull sharks have a stronger bite. This is believed to be because bull sharks often feed in murky water, which means that when they bite their prey, they don’t really want to lose it. So once they get their teeth into it, they certainly won’t let go any time soon, unlike great whites that tear their prey.
Old shark teet
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Depending on the species, the average modern shark tooth is between 0.5 and 2 inches long. Great white sharks, for example, have teeth about 2 inches. However, there was an ancient shark that could out-perform all modern-day sharks, and that beast was the megalodon. The Megalodon was the biggest shark that ever existed and reached a length of between 60 and 70 feet in length. To match the astronomical longitude, they also had quite large teeth. megalodon literally means “big tooth” and the largest Megolodon teeth found are a whopping 7 inches long! Megolodon’s teeth were similar to the large white ones – triangular in shape with jagged edges. This indicates that they had a similar diet of whales, sharks, fish and other marine mammals.
Although the megalodon had teeth that resembled great whites – pointed lower teeth and triangular upper teeth – others were completely different. Some ancient shark teeth have been found that represent the evolution of sharks. They are known as transition teeth and show how one shark species has evolved to another. The best-known example of temporary teeth shows the evolution of the now-extinct basking mako shark into the great whites we see today. These transition teeth were wider and flatter like the giant mako. However, they also show some evidence of the beginnings of the serrations seen on great white shark teeth. These temporary teeth are of a “transitional type” known as: carcharodon hubbelli.
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