Identification of Shark Teeth (Elasmobranchii: Lamnidae) from a Historic Fishing Station on Smuttynose Island, Maine, Using Computed Tomography Imaging

Abstract - Two incomplete shark teeth were recovered during archaeological excavation of a historic fishing station on Smuttynose Island, ME. Specimens were identified to the species-level using non-destructive computed tomography (CT) imaging techniques. Their external and internal morphology is described and illustrated. Both teeth are from large sharks in the Order Lamniformes. The larger specimen is a developing tooth from the upper jaw of a Carcharodon carcharias (White Shark). The second specimen is a broken tooth from the lower jaw of a Lamna nasus (Porbeagle). The Smuttynose excavations provide an opportunity to examine faunal assemblages and the island's historic 17th-through 19th-century fisheries. Criteria for identifying teeth of common pelagic sharks of the Western North Atlantic are offered, and the role of sharks in the historic Gulf of Maine fishery is discussed.