The Devil’s Tooth is a well known and much photographed rocky outcrop and something of a landmark in Gibraltar. It appears as the main subject matter in several postcards and as an incidental object in others. Local historian Tito Vallejo suggests that it was also known as la Muela del Demonio. Perhaps the Spanish version was used prior to the capture of Gibraltar by Anglo-Dutch forces in 1704. (See LINK)
Perhaps the oldest extant photograph of the Devil’s Tooth ( 1870s Taken by the photographer on board HMS Challenger during its scientific voyage ) (See LINK)
Devil’s Tooth on the left ( 1930s postcard - L Roisin ) (See LINK)
Looking south towards Sierra Carbonera in Spain – the Devil’s Tooth is not immediately obvious but its there - middle right (Unknown – Detail )
It also appears in several older paintings and engravings although I not sure whether the name was in use at the time.
An engraving showing Parsons Lodge on the middle top of the picture with a prominent Devil’s Tooth underneath on the right ( Late 19th century - Unknown )
Picture of the Rock from the south with the Devil’s Tooth on the extreme middle right ( 1796 – G. B. Fisher ) (See LINK)
The Devil’s Tooth on the left – but not named ( 1825 - Filippo Benucci ) (See LINK)
The Devil’s Tooth in the middle of the picture but still unnamed ( T.M. Baynes)
In 1884 Stewart Patterson (see LINK) in his article for Notes and Queries for Literary Men names the outcrop by the only other variation that I have been able to discover in the literature:
The Devil's Tusk is a pinnacle of limestone in the shape of a tooth, and about thirty feet in height, at the rear of the Royal Naval Hospital.
Tooth, Tusk or Muela I can only hope that that the authorities never decide to dynamite the thing in the name of progress – but I would not be surprised to wake up one morning to find out that they have done just that.