Pathological or Mutated Shark Teeth

Pathological shark teeth are developmental abnormalities commonly found in the shark tooth fossil record that may be caused by a variety of reasons: genetic mutation, damaged or immature teeth. Pathological teeth develop with distorted or disfigured crowns, and collectors usually have little or no trouble recognizing them. Due to the sheer quantity of teeth produced over the eons by sharks, many fossilized shark teeth reflect a ‘pathological’ condition.