Sphyraenidae is a cosmopolitan group of marine fishes represented by both extant and extinct taxa with occurrences spanning most of the Cenozoic. Although some species are known from well-preserved specimens with a considerable degree of completeness, most of the fossil record in the family consists of isolated teeth. Fossil occurrences of the genus Sphyraena are described from the Neogene Castilletes fauna of Colombia and the Palmetto and Torreya faunas in the United States. Symphysial teeth are found to differ serially, thus allowing us to refine anatomical descriptions of common isolated fossil remains in the genus Sphyraena. Comparisons with other marine taxa that show hypertrophied symphysial teeth are made in order to assess the taxonomic value of symphysial teeth as diagnostic structures of value in studies of isolated sphyraenid specimens.