21 Different Types of Fish With Big Teeth

Sheepshead
Sheepshead

A beautiful accomplishment that many of us take pride in is catching a fish. The majority of the time, we are familiar with the fish we catch and are skilled at handling and managing them. But do you know there are certain fishes with really really big teeth? If you go fishing, you should take extra precautions and utilize alternate methods to land some species since their teeth are so large. We will discuss the fish with big teeth in this article.

Some of these fish inhabit depths that you would never want to reach, between 500 and 5000 meters below the surface of the sea. But it’s a good thing because the likelihood of seeing deadly species that may rip you apart increases as you go deeper. Here goes the list of fish with big teeth,

Fish with big teeth

1. Sloane’s viperfish

Small predatory fish called Sloane’s viperfish are present in both temperate and tropical seas all around the world. Sloane’s viperfish has the biggest teeth in relation to the fish head, despite its modest size. When the animal shuts its mouth, the teeth enclose the powerful jaw. Although the fish may dive up to 1000 meters below the surface, sea divers can identify them by their large mouths and fang-like teeth.

Also Read: Top 10 Ugliest Fishes In The World

Sloane’s viperfish
Sloane’s viperfish

Image Source: Brian Suda

2. Triggerfish

A fish with teeth that resembled humans caused a social media uproar in the middle of the year 2020. According to reports, the fish was caught in Malaysia, and a picture of it was posted on Twitter. The fish had large lips resembling triggerfish and human-like front teeth, despite some claims that the photographs may have been altered. Around 40 different species of triggerfish can be found worldwide.

The Picasso triggerfish in particular has distinct front teeth. The clown triggerfish is another triggerfish that has a few teeth to brag about. Waters that are tropical or subtropical typically host triggerfishes. They consume sea urchins, worms, and crabs for food.

Also Read: 10 Different Types of Fish with Big Foreheads

Triggerfish
Triggerfish

3. Great white sharks

The great shark, also known as the white pointer, is an apex predator of mackerel that inhabits the offshore and coastal seas of all significant oceans. The teeth of the sea monsters can reach a height of nearly six inches and have more than 300. They can be seen on both jaws and are all serrated, making them razor-sharp for tearing apart food and penetrating through flesh during feeding. It is also listed as one of the strongest sea animals in the world.

Great white sharks’ is a type of shark with a deadly reputation mostly due to their huge, blade-like teeth. Given that they account for the majority of white shark attacks on humans, it is not unexpected that they are portrayed as fierce predators in numerous thriller films. There have been 272 cases of unprovoked white great shark attacks on people by the year 2012.

Also Read: 10 Different Types of Fish With Legs

Great White Shark
Great White Shark

4. Sheepshead

Sheepshead is another fish with teeth that uncannily mimic human teeth. Unexpectedly, sheepshead has incisors, molars, and even circular grinders in their teeth. They consume small fish and crustaceans with the aid of their teeth. North and South America are the home of sheepshead.

On the Atlantic and Gulf beaches of the United States, in particular, people can locate them. From Cape Cod to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil, you can also discover fish. This fish can reach a length of 10 to 20 inches and is a member of the family Sparidae. Although it is extremely uncommon, sheepshead can grow up to 35 inches long!

Sheepshead
Sheepshead

Image Source: Wikimedia

5. Goliath Tigerfish

The river Lualaba, the lakes Tanganyika, and Upemba in the Congo River Basin are home to the enormous, very carnivorous Goliath tigerfish. With sword-like teeth, the tigerfish is an extreme variation of the common fish. According to researcher Jeremy Wade, this fish has 32 teeth, some of which can grow to be as large as 2.5 cm. The fish may reach lengths of 1.5 meters and the heaviest specimen ever measured was 70 kilos, living up to its name.

Also Read: Top 10 Amazing Fish With Big Eyes

Goliath Tigerfish
Goliath Tigerfish

Image Source: Wikimedia

6. Black Piranha

There are many of us who fear piranhas, and for good reason. Sharks bite! They can even eat humans alive when they do this. Another toothy fish is the black piranha. A black piranha, the largest of all piranhas, may weigh up to 13 lbs. Just mentioning a black piranha is enough to make folks uneasy. Face-to-face contact takes communication to a whole new level.

It possesses razor-sharp teeth that are more visible due to its prominent jawline and blood-red eyes. Piranhas must also be caught carefully by anglers. Even while catching one can make you feel accomplished, it comes with all the risks you can think of. After all, piranhas can quickly snag your fingers and toes.

Black Piranha
Black Piranha

Image Source: Wikimedia

7. Payara fish

A species of dog teeth tetra endemic to South America’s Amazon Basin is the predatory payara fish. The long fangs of teeth that extend from the payara fish’s lower jaw are what give it its well-deserved moniker as the Dracula fish. The teeth are around 6 inches long and contain knife- and needle-like edges for impaling prey, which can include large fish like piranhas.

Payara fish
Payara fish

Image Source: Wikimedia

8. Map Pufferfish

The deadly fish with teeth known as the map pufferfish, also called the scribbled puffer, has teeth. The skin and internal organs of this fish are covered in a potent neurotoxin. Therefore, one mistake could put you in a very dangerous situation. But this fish is also reserved. They frequently hide in a burrow when someone approaches them, making them exceedingly difficult to approach.

The territory of map pufferfish is very defined. They can bite very hard. They eat crabs, sponges, and algae. A pointed beak is created when the four teeth are united. Additionally, teeth continue to grow over the course of a person’s life. Humans should use caution because their bite is so potent.

Map Pufferfish
Map Pufferfish

Image Source: Wikimedia

9. Alligator gars

The alligator gar is a night predator fish that waits patiently to ambush other fish. The sneaky animal has the appearance of being sluggish. In the Southern United States, the gars inhabit reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. The alligator gar is distinctive from the other fish on our list since it only has two rows of large, sharp teeth on its top jaw. Although the gar is one of the most effective hunters in the water, the teeth are nevertheless up to the task.

Alligator gars
Alligator gars

Image Source: Wikimedia

10. Northern Pike

The aggressive carnivorous northern pike prefers weedy habitats in reservoirs and lakes, slow-moving shallow streams, and rocky rivers. The aggressive fish has a deadly set of teeth that are tightly packed in its mouth. There are up to 700 teeth in the little frontal region of the mouth. The nightmare, however, is the broad lower jaw, which is home to menacing canine chompers. The relatively inward-facing, somewhat fang-like teeth can grow up to 2 cm in length. Because of this, fishermen frequently refer to them as “water wolves.”

Northern Pike
Northern Pike

Image Source: Wikimedia

11. Atlantic Wolf fish

The Atlantic wolffish is a marine fish that belongs to the wolffish family Anarhichadidae, native to the North Atlantic Ocean.  It is also known as seawolf, Atlantic catfish, ocean catfish, devil fish, wolf eel, or sea cat that was first formally described in 1758 in the 10th edition of the Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus with its type locality given as the “northern English Ocean”.

The population of Wolffish is depleting very frequently because of overfishing and bycatch. The primary diet includes hardshell mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms.  They are also seen eating large whelks (Buccinum), cockles (Polynices, Chrysodomus, and Sipho), sea clams (Mactra), large hermit crabs, starfish, and sea urchins. 

Atlantic Wolf fish
Atlantic Wolf fish

Image Source: Linda

12. Lingcod

Lingod is one of the fishes with big teeth that are dark gray, brown, or greenish on the back with some copper-colored mottling or spotting along the upper back. It is also known as Buckethead and comes with a large head, mouth, and large and sharp teeth. They grow quickly upto 5 feet and 80 pounds, and their lifespan is more than 20 years. The adult species are aggressive predators and feed primarily on bottom-dwelling fish (including smaller lingcod), squid, octopi, and crabs. They are mostly seen in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska down to Baja California, but they’re most abundant near British Columbia and Washington.

Lingcod
Lingcod

Image Source: Wikimedia

13. Deep-sea Fangtooth

Deep-sea Fangtooth is one of the Mariana trench animals known for its largest teeth compared to the body size of all the fishes in the world. The scientific name of the Deep-sea Fangtooth is Anoplogaster spp and belongs to the family Anoplogastridae. The biggest threat to fish species is tuna, marlin, and small sharks. The dietary habits are carnivorous in nature and feed on smaller fishes, crustaceans, larger fish, and even squids. The body is extremely compressed along with huge heads, enormous jaws, and a gruesome giving it a corpse-like appearance.

Deep-sea Fangtooth
Deep-sea Fangtooth

Image Source: Wikimedia

14. Alligator gar

The alligator gar is named after alligators because of their resemblance to the animal species. It is the second largest freshwater fish in North America and helps in maintaining the fish population. The fish species grows upto 10 feet in length and the average weight is upto 300 pounds. Male alligator gars are often larger than females. They are mostly seen in the lakes, rivers, estuaries, swamps, bayous, and reservoirs near southern regions of the United States and eastern Mexico. It primarily feeds on smaller fish like carp and shad. They are also seen eating turtles, birds, and even small mammals.

Alligator gar
Alligator gar

Image Source: Wikimedia

15. Pacu

Pacu is one of the fishes with big teeth that have few things in common such as freshwater habitats, plate-shaped bodies, and fins on their back, stomach, sides, and tail. It is also known as vegetarian piranha and its teeth look like humans. They are mostly seen in tropical & subtropical South America but are now found throughout USA, Europe & Asia. The avarage lifespan of pacu fish is upto 15 years in the wild and 25 years in captivity. The body ranges between 20 to 80 cm and the average weight is upto 25 kg. Th primary diet includes fruit, seeds, decaying plant matter, grains, snails, & other fish.

Pacu fish
Pacu fish

Image Source: Wikimedia

16. Bluefish (Tailor or Snapper Elves Fish)

Bluefish are also known as tailor or snapper elves where their body ranges between 20 to 25 cm in length, however, they can get upto 42 inches in length. Talking about its appearance, it is blue or blue-green along its back, fading to silver or white along the sides and belly. They have two dorsal fins that are far larger than the first. The population of bluefish is distributed throughout the world’s oceans from tropical to temperate waters and they are mostly seen in the Atlantic Ocean and sometimes in the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. They feed on plankton in the young stage and will transition to a piscivorous diet as they get older.

Bluefish (Tailor or Snapper Elves Fish)
Bluefish (Tailor or Snapper Elves Fish)

Image Source: Wikimedia

17. Deep-sea Dragonfish

The Deep-sea Dragonfish are also known as the barbeled dragonfish with unique fang-like teeth to grab prey in their deep-sea environment. It is also known as a Scaleless dragonfish that prefers Tropical ocean regions to thrive and is seen at a depth of upto 5,000 feet. The body length is between 4 to 6 inches and it is capable of producing its own light through a chemical process known as bioluminescence. The light is produced by a special organ known as a photophore and it is belived that the lighting is used to attract its prey and even to signal potential mates.

Deep-sea Dragonfish
Deep-sea Dragonfish

Image Source: UC San Diego

18. Sperm Whales

Sperm Whales, also known as cachalot, black whale, or pot whale, belong to the family Physeteridae and are also listed as one of the animals with big noses. Talking about their apperance, they have a large, dark-colored along with a massive, square-shaped head and a single blowhole placed at the forehead. The primary diet includes octopi, sharks, and other fish species. The average lifespan of sperm whales is upto 60 years. It is also listed as one of the largest toothed whales and can grow to a maximum length of 52 feet (15.8 m) and a weight of 90,000 pounds.

Sperm Whales
Sperm Whales

19. Bowfin

Bowfin is a type of bony fish that is native to North America, and commonly found throughout much of the eastern United States and also in the regions of southern Ontario and Quebec. The avarage length of Bowfin species is upto 50 cm in length where females are larger than males. The fish species also have an air bladder, able to extract oxygen from air that is gulped at the water’s surface. There is a prominent black spot (eye spot) which is surrounded by a yellow or orange ring and sometimes it is located on the upper tail, however. this occurs more in males.

Bowfin
Bowfin

Image Source: Phil’s

20. Esox

Esox is a freshwater fish that belongs to the family Esocidae. It is also known as pike or pickerel native to the Palearctic and Nearctic realms, ranging across Northern America and from Western Europe to Siberia in North Asia. The avarage lifespan of Esox is up to 30 years old in the wild but only live 6 years in captivity max because they will not accept artificial food. Talking about the appearance, they have a torpedo-like shape typical of predatory fishes along with sharply pointed heads and sharp teeth. The primary diet includes smaller fishes such as shoal fish.

Esox
Esox

Image Source: Wikimedia

21. Frilled Shark

The frilled Shark is one of the fish with big teeth that prefers tropical to subpolar latitudes. They have long and eel-like sharks that have the appearance of one of the most primitive fishes in the ocean. It has six gills from a frill around its neck, giving it the name frilled shark. The body size is between 1.3 to 2m, however, wieght is not known. The primary diet includes Cephalopods such as (squid, octopus, etc). The frilled shark was discovered by a German scientist zoologist named Ludwig Doderlein and published in Garman’s paper about frilled sharks, it’s called “An Extraordinary Shark” and was published in Proceedings of the Essex Institute.

Frilled Shark
Frilled Shark

Image Source: Wikimedia

These are the types of fish with big teeth. Kindly share and post your comments.

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