Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos

One of my photos is featured in a new video entitled Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Dr. Ami Thompson. See the inset photo in the following video screen capture.

Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Ami Thompson.

The video is one of 15 Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos coproduced by Ami Thompson and Peter Xyooj. The Dragonfly Curriculum Guide (PDF) is available for free.

Notice my last name is misspelled in the credits at the end of the video: Stanford is an institution; I should be institutionalized. <Rim shot!> Oh well, at least my name is spelled correctly in the video screen capture shown above.

Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Ami Thompson.

The inset photo is from “Mocha Emerald dragonfly claspers,” a blog post that I published on 13 July 2017.

09 JUL 2017 | Huntley Meadows Park | Mocha Emerald (male)

Related Resources

• Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos, coproduced by Ami Thompson and Peter Xyooj.
• Dragonfly Curriculum Guide (PDF), by Ami Thompson.
• Mocha Emerald dragonfly claspers, a blog post by Walter Sanford.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Common Green Darner exuviae (male vestigial genitalia)

Male odonates in Suborder Anisoptera (Dragonflies) have two sets of sex organs: primary genitalia located on abdominal segment nine (S9); and secondary genitalia located on abdominal segments two-to-three (S2-3).

For some (but not all) species of odonate larvae/exuviae, sex is indicated by either a rudimentary ovipositor (female) or vestigial genitalia (male). These sex organs don’t look exactly the same for all species of dragonflies, but their function is identical.

The following annotated images show the male vestigial genitalia for two Common Green Darner (Anax junius) exuviae collected by Jason Avery during Summer 2022 in Calvert County, Maryland USA. All of the images show the ventral side of the exuviae.

Male No. 1

Summer 2022 | Common Green Darner (Anax junius) | exuvia (male)

Summer 2022 | Common Green Darner (Anax junius) | exuvia (male)

Male No. 2

Summer 2022 | Common Green Darner (Anax junius) | exuvia (male)

Look closely at the following image and you should notice the secondary genitalia appear to extend from S2 to S3. In this case, only the more prominent parts on S3 are labeled.

Summer 2022 | Common Green Darner (Anax junius) | exuvia (male)

Related Resources

• Related post by Jason Avery in Maryland Odonata Facebook group
• Sexing odonate exuviae (Anisoptera)
• Sexing odonate exuviae (Zygoptera)

Tech Tips

All of the preceding images were photographed by Jason Avery and annotated by Walter Sanford. Thanks to Jason for kindly sharing his photos!

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Post update: Which family is it?

The following odonate exuvia is from a damselfly in Suborder Zygoptera.

The overall shape of the prementum (highlighted by a red rectangle) indicates this specimen is from Family Calopterygidae (Broad-winged Damselflies). Notice the embedded raindrop shape (highlighted by a purple rectangle), located toward the upper-center of the prementum — a key field mark for this family.

03 SEP 2022 | Powhatan County, VA USA | (exuvia, ventral side)

Two genera from Family Calopterygidae are common in the Commonwealth of Virginia: Hetaerina; and Calopteryx. For species in Genus Calopteryx the raindrop shape (Fig. 19) looks more like a diamond shape (Fig. 18), so it’s probably safe to infer this specimen is a species in Genus Hetaerina.

Identification Manual for the Damselfly Nymphs of Florida, p. 13

Related Resources

• Which family is it? – a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Identification Manual for the Damselfly Nymphs (Zygoptera) of Florida, by Johnny S. Richardson

Post Update: Congratulations to Doug Mills, Wally Jones, and Bob Perkins for correctly identifying the family of this exuvia.

Doug and Wally looked at the shape of the prementum. Bob looked at the antennae.

The long middle segment on the antennae is the key, found only on Calopterygidae nymphs. Nymphs of the other families have antenna segments that are progressively shorter from base to tip. Source Credit: Bob Perkins.

Looking at the prementum should enable you to identify all three families; looking at antennae works for only one family.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Which family is it?

An odonate exuvia was collected by Cindy Haddon Andrews on 03 September 2022 along the James River, near the Maidens Boat Landing in Powhatan County, Virginia USA. External gills (3) indicate this specimen is from a damselfly in Suborder Zygoptera.

Pattern recognition can be used to tentatively identify damselfly larvae/exuviae to the family level: the shape of the prementum is characteristic for each of the three families found in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States of America.

Your mission, should decide to accept it, is to identify the family to which the following damselfly exuvia belongs.

03 SEP 2022 | Powhatan County, VA USA | (exuvia, ventral side)

The camera lens was manually focused on the prementum, located near the anterior end of the exuvia.

Here is the same photo rotated 90° clockwise.

03 SEP 2022 | Powhatan County, VA USA | (exuvia, ventral side)

If you think you know the family, then please leave a comment. The correct answer will be revealed in a post update.

Related Resource: How to Identify Damselfly Exuviae to Family – a photo-illustrated identification guide by Walter Sanford.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Archilestes grandis exuvia (female)

An odonate exuvia from a Great Spreadwing damselfly (Archilestes grandis) was collected by Edgar Spalding at a small private pond in Middleton, Wisconsin USA.

SEP 2022 | Middleton, WI | Archilestes grandis (exuvia, ventral side)

External gills (3), highlighted by a blue rectangle in the following annotated image, indicate the exuvia is from a damselfly in Suborder Zygoptera.

The camera lens was manually focused on the prementum, located near the anterior end of the exuvia (highlighted by a red rectangle). The overall shape of the prementum indicates this specimen is from Family Lestidae (Spreadwings); the unique shape of the palpal lobes (highlighted by a purple rectangle) indicates Genus Archilestes.

There are two species in Genus Archilestes in North America: Archilestes californicus; and Archilestes grandis. I think it’s reasonable to infer this individual is A. grandis since Wisconsin is far out of range for A. californicus.

SEP 2022 | Middleton, WI | Archilestes grandis (exuvia, ventral side)

This individual is a female, as indicated by the rudimentary ovipositor located on the ventral side of its abdomen, near the posterior end (highlighted by a green rectangle in the preceding annotated image).

Related Resources

• How to Identify Damselfly Exuviae to Family, by Walter Sanford
• A Beginners’ Guide to Identifying the Exuviae of Wisconsin Odonata to Family, by Freda van den Broek and Walter Sanford.
• Sexing odonate exuviae (Zygoptera), by Walter Sanford

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Reasoning for resident Roseate

Parts of my last blog post are like the title and abstract for a research paper.

At this point I think it’s reasonable to conclude I was right in 2015 — there is a small, resident, reproducing population of Roseate Skimmer at the park. Source Credit: Breaking news: More Roseate Skimmer spotted at Huntley Meadows Park, by Walter Sanford.

In this blog post, I will provide some of the reasoning that makes my conclusion reasonable.

Probability

First and foremost, ask yourself the obvious question: What are the odds Roseate Skimmer dragonfly (Orthemis ferruginea) migrated to the same park four times during the past eight years? Highly improbable, in my strong opinion.

Adult Flight Period

Long flight season but often most common in fall. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Location 9347). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Did you notice every sighting of Roseate Skimmer at Huntley Meadows Park, located in Fairfax County, Virginia USA, occurred during the month of September?

• 10 September 2014 – Walter Sanford (observed only)
• 23 September 2015 – Walter Sanford (photo)
• 29 September 2019 – Howard Wu (photo)
• 15 September 2022 – Lindsay Davis Loyd and Scot Magnotta (photo)

Mike Boatwright, my good friend and an odonate expert, searched the Dragonfly Society of the Americas Odonata Central records database and discovered a similar pattern.

• The earliest date in South Carolina is July 04 with most records in August to October.
• All North Carolina records are late August to September.
• Only two (2) Maryland records in July and August.

Lacking a larger database of sightings that can be used to determine the adult flight period for Roseate Skimmer at Huntley Meadows Park, it appears late-August to September is a good time to look for this rare species.

Why hasn’t the species been spotted more often at HMP?

That’s a good question, with several possible answers.

Roseate Skimmer is a “mudder,” meaning its preferred habitat seems to be ponds where there are mud flats.

Habitat: Very broad habitat tolerance, prefers mud bottoms for larval habitat. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Locations 9354-9355). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Now ask yourself another question: How many people visit Huntley Meadows Park and spend a lot of time looking carefully at mud flats? I think most people are drawn to the green spaces in the park.

But that’s just part of the problem. Huntley Meadows Park is huge (nearly 1,500 acres) and there are a lot of mud flats throughout the park, including many in places that are mostly inaccessible and/or off-limits to the public. This is especially true during late-summer and early-fall when the water level in the central wetland area tends to be lower than at other times of year.

And it’s almost certainly true that fewer odonate enthusiasts, including me, visit the park as often as they did before the park became overcrowded with photographers who block the boardwalk at prime locations where Roseate Skimmer might be spotted. Fewer odonate hunters searching for relatively few individual specimens at a time of year when there is a lot of suitable habitat is not a formula for success!

First confirmed sighting of a female Roseate Skimmer

The female and male Roseate Skimmer dragonflies that were spotted by Lindsay Davis Loyd and Scot Magnotta are a game-changer. The Roseates were observed perched relatively close to each other. If the pair hadn’t mated already then it’s likely they did — mating is the primary goal of adult odonates. So there are almost certainly Roseate Skimmer eggs in the water at Huntley Meadows Park. If the larvae (nymphs) overwinter successfully, then the beat goes on.

Opposing viewpoints

Equally reasonable opposing viewpoints are invited and welcome.

Until proven otherwise, I will continue to contend there is a resident population of Roseate Skimmer at Huntley Meadows Park.

There are many experienced odonate hunters who live in Northern Virginia. I think it would be great if we could mobilize a group to systematically search the park for Roseate Skimmer next year.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

 

Iberian odonate larvae

During late-October 2021, I was contacted by Miguel A. Conesa-García, PhD, Profesor Tutor Biología, Diversidad Animal, Ciencias Ambientales, UNED-Málaga.

Miguel was working on finishing the second edition of his book about odonate larvae in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). When Miguel was almost finished, an adult male Wandering Glider dragonfly (Pantala flavescens) was spotted in Spain. P. flavescens is a new species of odonate for the region, so Miguel decided to add the new discovery to the species list in his book.

Cover photo, courtesy Amazon Books.

The following screen capture shows the search string I used to find the book on Amazon.

Screen capture, Amazon Books.

The book is richly illustrated with beautiful photos and diagrams. It’s abundantly evident I could learn a lot from the book — I wish there were an English Edition!

Miguel requested permission to use a photo of a Wandering Glider exuvia in my photoblog, published on 14 November 2018. I was, of course, willing to help.

Page excerpt from Miguel’s book, featuring my photo.

I’m mentioned in the acknowledgements at the end of the book. Regrettably my first name is misspelled and the Web address cited is no longer current. I took the liberty of annotating the page from Miguel’s book to provide the correct information.

Acknowledgements, p. 539 (annotated).

Acknowledgements, p. 539 (original).

Migratory Dragonflies

Wandering Glider is one of at least five major species of dragonflies known to be migratory in North America. P. flavescens is the only species of odonate known to occur on every continent except Antarctica.

The exuvia that I photographed is the “cast skin” from an odonate larva (nymph) that was collected in the field by Andy Davidson, a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia USA. Andy reared the larva in the laboratory as part of a research project entitled “Predator-Prey Interactions in a Changing World.”

Part of the value in rearing odonate larvae in the laboratory is knowing with certainty that an exuvia is from a particular species. This is perhaps the reason that Miguel chose to use my photo.

Related Resources

• Test shots: Pantala flavescens exuvia.
• Field Guide to Migratory Dragonflies, by Migratory Dragonfly Partnership.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Kaizen

In Japanese, the word “kaizen” literally means improvement.

The Japanese word kaizen means ‘change for better,’ with the inherent meaning of either ‘continuous’ or ‘philosophy’ in Japanese dictionaries and in everyday use. The word refers to any improvement, one-time or continuous, large or small, in the same sense as the English word improvement. Source Credit: Kaizen, Wikipedia.

I wonder whether regular readers of my blog have noticed that many posts are updated and/or improved after they are posted. And so it is with the Identification Guide for Family Macromiidae (Cruisers) in Virginia that was published recently.

We corrected a typo (changed “boarder” to “border”) that spell-check missed, added a pointer to a range map for the two subspecies of Swift River Cruiser (see Related Resources), and updated the interactive version of the PDF (already published).

Finally we created a new, non-interactive version of the PDF. The following screenshot shows what the new document looks like.

(See the complete, non-interactive PDF version of the ID guide.)

Related Resources

• “Identification Guide for Family Macromiidae (Cruisers) in Virginia”: Web version; PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (1.4 MB); PDF version, Apple iOS and “Safari” (27.6 MB).
• How to convert a Web page to PDF – a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Another way to convert a Web page to PDF – another blog post by Walter Sanford

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Identification Guide for Family Macromiidae (Cruisers) in Virginia

There are two (2) genera and five (5) species in Family Macromiidae (Cruisers) that can be found in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Stream Cruiser (Didymops transversa). MAR 26 – SEP 11.

Allegheny River Cruiser (Macromia alleghaniensis). JUN 4 – AUG 27.
Swift River Cruiser (Macromia illinoiensis) MAY 08 – OCT 10. [This species includes two subspecies: Macromia illonoiensis illinoiensis; and Macromia illinoiensis georgina.]
Mountain River Cruiser (Macromia margarita). MAY 25 – JUN 15.
Royal River Cruiser (Macromia taeniolata). MAY 15 – OCT 10.

Source Credits: A Checklist of North American Odonata
Including English Name, Etymology, Type Locality, and Distribution, by Dennis R. Paulson and Sidney W. Dunkle. Adult flight periods excerpted from “CHECKLIST OF THE DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF VIRGINIA, April 2017 and April 2020 updates” by Dr. Steve Roble, Staff Zoologist at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage.

General Characteristics for Cruisers

All cruisers have a single stripe on the lateral sides of their thorax. All cruisers have spots on top of their frons with the notable exception of Royal River Cruiser (Macromia taeniolata), a key field mark for that species.

Genus Didymops

Stream Cruiser

Stream Cruiser (Didymops transversa) is so distinctive in its appearance that no other species of dragonfly looks similar.

Photo credit: Walter Sanford. Stream Cruiser (male).

The following composite image shows two (2) female terminal appendages in the background photo; three (3) male appendages are shown in the inset photo.

Photo credit: Walter Sanford. Stream Cruiser (female).

Genus Macromia

In contrast with genus Didymops, the four species of genus Macromia look similar and can be difficult if not impossible to identify with certainty in the field (especially females of some species).

Accordingly, this identification guide will focus on genus Macromia. Our advice (say it over and over like a mantra): Shoot first (photos, that is) and ask questions later. At a minimum, we recommend photos that show both a dorsal view and lateral view. The more the better! All of that being said, be sure to get at least one “record shot” — get a shot, any shot, and refine the shot as the subject allows.

Photo-illustrated guides for each species in genus Macromia are divided into two sections: one part for males; another part for females. The following field marks can be used to differentiate male versus female dragonflies.

Male: hamules (secondary genitalia located underneath abdominal segments two and three (S2-3); three (3) terminal appendages including two (2) cerci and one (1) epiproct; and “indented” hind wings.

Female: thicker abdomen, no hamules; two (2) cerci; and rounded hind wings.

A three-step process can be used to determine the identity of species in genus Macromia.

1. Examine the anterior side of the thorax for the presence or absence of prominent frontal stripes, sometimes referred to as antehumeral stripes. This is a key field mark.
2. Examine the pattern of abdominal bands and spots. Bands on abdominal segments two and seven (S2 and S7) are key field marks. They can appear to be complete or broken dorsally, complete or broken laterally, or can encircle the entire abdominal segment.
3. Examine the pattern of wing venation, as necessary, specifically the forewing triangle.

Females of Allegheny River Cruiser, Swift River Cruiser (especially the “Illinois” subspecies), and Mountain River Cruiser can be extremely difficult to identify.

Females can be very difficult to distinguish. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Location 7243). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Where the ranges of the two subspecies of Swift River Cruiser overlap (including the eastern Piedmont and Coastal Plain of Virginia) individuals with intermediate characteristics might be encountered. It will be impossible to assign these individuals to either subspecies. (Donnelly and Tennessen 1994).

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Prominent frontal stripes are present in two species of genus Macromia: Royal River Cruiser (Macromia taeniolata); and Swift “Georgia” River Cruiser (Macromia illinoiensis georgina).

Royal River Cruiser

Male field marks: No pale spots on top of frons; prominent frontal stripes; no club.

Photo used with written permission from Larry Lynch.

Female field marks: No pale spots on top of frons; prominent frontal stripes; either small paired spots or no spots at the base of abdominal segment eight (S8).

Photo used with written permission from Larry Lynch.

Swift “Georgia” River Cruiser

Male field marks: Pale yellow spots on top of frons; prominent frontal stripes; prominent club.

Photo used with written permission from Joseph Girgente.

Female field marks: Pale yellow spots on top of frons; prominent frontal stripes; prominent yellow crossbar or band at base of abdominal segment eight (S8).

Photo used with written permission from Larry Lynch.

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Prominent frontal stripes are absent in three species of genus Macromia: Allegheny River Cruiser (Macromia alleghaniensis); Swift “Illinois” River Cruiser (Macromia illonoiensis illinoiensis); and Mountain River Cruiser (Macromia margarita).

Allegheny River Cruiser

Editor’s Note: Frontal stripes are present in many individuals, but they are generally short and less prominent.

Male field marks: Band on abdominal segment two (S2) slightly broken dorsally, complete laterally; band on abdominal segment seven (S7) completely encircles the abdomen; mesotibial keel length <20%. [See Michael Moore’s excellent annotated images for good illustrations of mesotibial keels.]

Photo credit: Walter Sanford. Specimen collected by Mike Blust.

Photo used with written permission from Larry Lynch.

Female field marks: Band on abdominal segment two (S2) broken dorsally, complete laterally; band on abdominal segment seven (S7) broken laterally.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Swift “Illinois” River Cruiser

Male field marks: Band on abdominal segment two (S2) narrow and broken both dorsally and laterally; band on abdominal segment seven (S7) incomplete laterally; generally little or no yellow spots on middle abdominal segments; mesotibial keel length 25-50%.

Editor’s Note: This is the only species of genus Macromia with black auricles.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Photo used with written permission from Larry Lynch.

Female field marks: Band on abdominal segment two (S2) broken dorsally and laterally; band on abdominal segment seven (S7) broken laterally; spots on dorsum of abdomen generally smaller and more triangular than those of Mountain River Cruiser.

Some females might not be identifiable without in-hand examination of the subgenital plate, tibia length, and wing venation (refer to the section entitled “Wing Venation” toward the end of this guide).

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Mountain River Cruiser

Editor’s Note: Yellow stripe on the face is brighter with a more narrow brown border.

Male field marks: Band on abdominal segment two (S2) broken dorsally, complete laterally; band on abdominal segment seven (S7) incomplete laterally; mesotibial keel length >50%.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Female field marks: Band on abdominal segment two (S2) broken dorsally and laterally; band on abdominal segment seven (S7) broken laterally; spots on dorsum of abdomen fairly large and squarish.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

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Wing venation

Wing venation can be used sometimes in conjunction with other characteristics to help distinguish some species of Macromia (river cruisers). However, there is variability within species. In addition, some individuals may exhibit different venation in each wing. Females generally have more crossveins than males. Therefore, one must not rely upon wing venation solely to make a positive identification. The information given here was derived from several scientific sources and represents the most commonly observed venation of both sexes within a species.

Mountain River Cruiser: Forewing triangle usually two-celled and subtriangle usually bordered by three cells; subtriangle one- or two-celled.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Allegheny River Cruiser: Forewing triangle usually one-celled and subtriangle usually bordered by two cells; subtriangle usually one-celled.

Photo credit: Mike Boatwright.

Mountain River Cruiser: Forewing triangle 2 celled (90%) and subtriangle bordered by 3 cells (75%); subtriangle 2 celled (55%).

Allegheny River Cruiser: Forewing triangle 1 celled (100%) and subtriangle bordered by 2 cells (100%); subtriangle 1 celled (90%).

Swift “Illinois” River Cruiser: Forewing triangle 1 celled (90%) and subtriangle bordered by 2 cells (70%); subtriangle 1 celled (100%).

Swift “Georgia” River Cruiser: Forewing triangle 2 celled (75%) and subtriangle bordered 2 cells (65%); subtriangle 1 celled (75%).

Royal River Cruiser: Forewing triangle 2 celled (75%) and subtriangle bordered by 3 cells (90%); subtriangle 2 celled (90%).

Editor’s Note: Percentage (%) refers to the percentage of wings showing the venation patterns, among study specimens. (Williamson 1909, and Westfall 1947).

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Related Resources

• Williamson, Edward Bruce. 1909. “The North American dragonflies (Odonata) of the genus Macromia.” Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 37 (1710):369–398, 7 figs., 2 pls.. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.37-1710.369
• Westfall, M. J. “A NEW MACROMIA FROM NORTH CAROLINA.” Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, vol. 63, no. 1, 1947, pp. 32–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24334074.
• Donnelly, T. & Tennessen, Kenneth. (1994). Macromia illinoiensis and georgina: a study of their variation and apparent subspecific relationship (Odonata: Corduliidae). Bulletin of American Odonatology. 2. 27. [Editor’s Note: Refer to p. 51 for a map of the eastern half of the United States that shows the ranges for the two subspecies of Swift River Cruiser.]
• PDF version of this guide. [Tech Tip: You must sign in to Facebook in order to download the file.]

Credits

Thanks to Larry Lynch and Joseph Girgente for permission to use their excellent photographs in this guide.

Also sincere thanks to my good friend Mike Boatwright, without whom it would have been impossible for me to create this guide. Mike is a master at odonate identification based upon key field marks — his descriptors provide the essential framework for the guide. And Mike did most of the heavy lifting by annotating all but two of the images featured in this guide. Excellent work, Mike that I’m honored to be able to share with our fellow odonate enthusiasts.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fossil shark tooth

Sometimes I start working on a blog post by shooting some quick-and-dirty test shots of the subject, such as the following photos of a fossil shark tooth taken using the “Camera” app on my Apple iPad mini 6. Both photos featured in this post are unedited, that is, they are the original JPGs straight from the “Photos” app on the iPad.

Labial side

The first photo was taken with the built-in camera flash turned on. In my opinion, the light is a little too “harsh.”

The photo shows the side of the tooth that faces outward from the mouth of the shark. Notice the tooth edges are serrated.

There are at least two ways to measure the size of a fossil shark tooth. (More about how to measure shark teeth in a follow-up blog post.) This tooth is approximately four and one-quarter inches (~4 1/4″), as measured along the straighter edge of the tooth (right side, relative to the photo).

Lingual side

The last photo was taken was taken using a small LED light and the flash turned off. The LED lighting is better than the flash light, but the specular reflection located near the upper-middle of the tooth enamel is a little distracting.

The photo shows the side of the tooth that faces inward. Three prominent parts of the tooth are easy to identify in the following photo, including the crown/enamel (top), bourlette (middle), and root (bottom).

In the opinion of the author, the lingual side of a shark tooth is often displayed because it is more visually appealing than the labial side.

What’s next?

I plan to shoot better photos, of course, and annotate some of them in order to make it easier to identify the parts of the tooth.

I will describe when and where I collected the fossil shark tooth, identify the species of shark, and provide an estimate of its approximate age on the Geologic Time Scale.

Finally I will explain how to measure the size of a fossil shark tooth, and how to determine whether the tooth is from the upper- or lower jaw, including its approximate position along the jaw line.

Related Resource: Fossil shark tooth, revisited.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.