The relationship between the tooth size and total body length in the common thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus (Lamniformes: Alopiidae)

Abstract

 The relationship between the height of tooth crown (CH) and total body length (TL) in the modern common thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre) (Lamniformes: Alopiidae), is examined using regression analyses. The results suggest: 1) that an increase in the CH of each tooth through replacement is proportional to the increase in the TL, 2) that the CH can be used to predict the TL, and 3) that distally located teeth develop faster through replacement compared to mesially located teeth. The regression equations presented here can be used to estimate the TL of fossil Alopias.