Carcharhinus sealei, the Blackspot shark, is a small (less than one meter in length) extant species of the Indo-west Pacific. They are reef-associated (shelf, surface to 40 meters) tropical water taxon feeding on small bony fishes and cephalopods. (Ref. Compagno 1984, Compagno et al 2005, and FishBase.org.)

The dentition is cutting-clutching in design; but unlike most members of the genus, the lowers are also distally inclined and the dentition more reminiscent of a gracile Tiger shark tooth. Teeth (generally) number 13-14 per quadrate displaying gradational and moderate (lowers tend to be smaller with more erect cusps) monognathic heterodonty. Uppers usually have larger distal cusplets than the lowers, with fine ones (often) on the mesial edge of the cusp. The primary cusp is mesially recurved and slightly broader in upper teeth. Posterior teeth have very low distally directed cusps suggesting a clipping function. Garrick (1982: 49) noted that adult male teeth have narrower teeth than their female counterparts.

When processing Pungo River Fm. (Serravalian, Middle Miocene) sand for smaller specimens, Carcharhinus macloti, falciformis and brachyurus are the dominant taxa. Less common are teeth of Sphyrna, Rhizoprionodon certain lamniforms & batoids. In addition, most samples will yield an unpublished (recognized) tooth-design. As these 'unknowns' accumulate, certain tooth-designs may display gradational similarities which allow them to be grouped. The below specimens are sufficiently similar to allow them to be grouped and compared with extant material. These teeth (included in part by Purdy et al 2001 Fig 45 as Paragaleus) compare much better with Carcharhinus sealei.

References

Compagno, L.,1984. FAO Species Catalogue, Vol 4, parts 1 & 2 Sharks of the World. United Nations Development Program.
Compagno, L.,1988. Sharks of the Order Carcharhiniformes. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 486 pp , 35 plates.
Compagno, L,, Dando & M., Fowler, S., 2005. Sharks of the World. Harper Collins, 368 p.
FishBase.org Nov. 2008.
Garrick, J., 1982. Sharks of the Genus Carcharhinus. NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular 445. 194 pp
Purdy, R., Schneider, V., Appelgate, S., McLellan, J., Meyer, R. & Slaughter, R., 2001. The Neogene Sharks, Rays, and Bony Fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. In: Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III. C. E. Ray & D. J. Bohaska eds. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, No 90. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. pp. 71-202.