Sharks are the most distinctive and mysterious creatures underwater. But their teeth hold more mystery than them. So, if you want to know that “How many teeth do sharks have?” then you may go through the following article.
Sharks have an amazing teeth mechanism. They have a large number of teeth which they use during hunting. During their lifetime, sharks continuously lose and grow teeth. Their intelligence level is also not the same, and one can be more intelligent than the other.
Though it sounds bad to lose teeth all the time continuously, the system works really well for the sharks.
Sharks are teeth-making machines!
On average, the most common type of shark has 50-300 teeth. During their entire lifetime, sharks continuously lose teeth and grow new ones in a very quick time and replace them. The number of teeth a shark has depends on the species of shark.
A shark almost regularly loses its teeth. Per week, a shark loses at least one tooth. They can also regrow teeth very fast. Thus, they can replace them very easily. A shark lives 20-30 years on average. In the meantime, a shark can have 20,000-35,0000 teeth. In the duration of their entire lives, they replace their teeth many times.
Reasons why shark has so many teeth:
The main reason why a shark has so many teeth is that when a shark loses its teeth, another tooth replaces the older one within a few hours. So, their number of teeth does not decrease.
Sharks lose their teeth constantly. A shark’s teeth can last a week or two. When they find a delicious meal and start eating them, they lose many teeth. Some teeth break down, and some get worn out with just a small bite of the meal. So, a shark can lose 1-40 teeth per week.
The human teeth have their own roots and are much stronger. But shark’s teeth do not have roots, so they break easily. That is why they lose their teeth very often and have to replace them.
The teeth of different types of sharks are layered in series and rows. Most of the sharks have five series and 15 rows of teeth. In fact, some have more than that. When a tooth in the first row of the shark loses, the corresponding tooth in the row behind it moves forward and immediately replaces it. The skin does the work like a conveyor belt. This occurs in just 24hours. And, that is the reason a shark can create up to 50,000 teeth over the course of its lifetime.
Some sharks do not have so many teeth, so they also do not lose as many teeth.
Different types of Shark teeth:
Sharks can have four basic types of teeth. They are:
- Dense-flattened teeth
- Needle-like teeth
- Pointed lower with triangular upper
- Non-functional teeth
- Megalodon teeth
Dense-flattened teeth are used for crushing shell-like prey, such as- crabs and lobsters. Through a needle, this type of prey can’t be blown, so dense-flattened teeth are best for that. The Angel shark and Nurse shark have dense-flattened teeth.
Sharks are having needle-like teeth fed on small and medium-sized fishes. These teeth can easily grip the fish, so they are perfect for eating slippery fishes. The Blue shark and Bull shark have needle-like teeth.
The pointed lower with triangular upper teeth are used to cut prey that contains big mammals and fish. These are cut into smaller pieces and swallowed. The Great white shark has this type of teeth.
The non-functional teeth are used to eat plankton. They are small teeth and used to eat small organisms. The basking shark has non-functional teeth.
The Megalodon teeth are big-sized teeth and the largest ever in a shark.
Number of teeth that various sharks have:
In the world’s ocean, there are about 553 species of sharks available. Some common types of sharks are Great White Shark, Tiger Shark, Sand Shark, Bull Shark, Shortfin Shark, Nurse Shark, Goblin Shark, Cookiecutter Shark, etc.
Let’s talk about the number of teeth they have one by one:
- Great White Shark: A Great white shark has around 300 teeth in total. In the first 2rows, it has 50 teeth, and the rest 250 teeth are the replacement teeth at the back. In its lifetime, it can have over 20,000 teeth.
- Tiger Shark: The teeth of the Tiger shark are like saw blades. Their teeth are very sharp and powerful. The bottom teeth hold the pray, and with the upper teeth, it bites and breaks the clams and sea turtles. It has almost 24rows of identical teeth, both in upper and lower jaws. The tiger shark tooth is about 1.5-2inchs big.
- Sand Shark: A Sand shark has 3-4rows of teeth, and in total, it is more than about 150 teeth. Their teeth are around 1inch.
- Bull Shark: A Bull shark has 50 rows of teeth in 7 series, and in total, that’s 350 teeth. To attack prey, they use the bump-and-bite Technique. They have an incredible bite force of 5,914N.
- Shortfin Mako Shark: The teeth of the Shortfin mako shark are long, thin, sharp, and hook-like structures. Teeth are arranged in 12-13rows in the upper jaw and 11-12 rows in the lower jaw. Their teeth are about 1.5-2inchs big.
- Nurse Shark: A Nurse shark has 30-42 upper teeth and 24-32 lower teeth in single rows. Teeth are arranged in 3rows in the lower jaw. No overlapping between the teeth is seen.
- Goblin Shark: Goblin shark is one of the most dangerous-looking sharks. At the front, it has nail-like long teeth, and at the back, it has small & flattened teeth. In the upper jaw, it has 35-53 teeth, and in the lower jaw, it has 31-62 teeth. In total, it has about 60-115 teeth.
- Cookiecutter Shark: A Cookiecutter shark is a small shark but has around 60 saw-like teeth. In the upper jaw, it has 30-37 teeth, and in the lower jaw, it has 25-31 teeth. With the upper teeth, it catches the prey and cuts with the lower teeth.
Conclusion:
So, “How many teeth do sharks have?”, the answer to this question directly depends on what type of shark we are talking about. We have discussed how the number of teeth varies from species to species. A shark loses its teeth constantly. It can lose 1-40 teeth per week. But still, it doesn’t fall short of teeth. It produces its teeth very quickly. It produces up to 50,000 teeth over the course of a lifetime.
Since sharks lose many teeth in their entire life, it is quite easy to find shark teeth along the shore of beaches. Thus, the beach visitors can pass their time by hunting plenty of shark teeth.
