Using Shark Teeth to Decipher Evolutionary Processes
Published:17 May2022 Source:University of Vienna
From embryo to turtle cracker: a team led by palaeobiologist Julia Türtscher from the University of Vienna studied the multiple changes in tooth shape in the tiger shark. The study, recently published in the Journal of Anatomy, is also central in drawing conclusions about extinct species from the myriad of preserved shark teeth in the field of palaeontology.
Cartilaginous fishes, i.e. sharks, skates and rays possess a so-called revolver dentition: as soon as they lose a tooth, a new one follows, throughout their entire lives.