It's not quite The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but the results of a scientific study comparing the sharpness and durability of different shark teeth sawing through prey were almost as scary.

To uncover how the shape of shark teeth affected a shark's biting and cutting ability, researchers writing in the Royal Society of Open Science conducted dynamic testing to simulate the head-shaking behaviour of large feeding sharks. Most large, predatory sharks use vigorous and rapid head-shaking to cut through prey with their teeth.

Using a reciprocating power saw, the researchers attached shark teeth to 12-inch bi-metal blades after grinding the metal teeth on the blade to a flat surface.

They then tested each set of shark teeth, including tiger sharks, bluntnose sixgill and others three times in five successive trials sawing through large chunks of salmon as prey.