Observations on heterodonty within the dentition of the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark, (Richardson, 1836), from the north-central Gulf of Mexico, USA, with implications on the fossil record.

The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark, (Richardson, 1836), is the most common small coastal requiem shark in the north-central Gulf of Mexico, USA. Despite this fact, little is known about the dental variation within this taxon. To help rectify this shortcoming, we examined 126 male and female jaws sets across all maturity stages to document the various types of heterodonty occurring in the dentition of this taxon.