Researchers study the evolutionary origins of tooth and jaw development in living sharks
The origins of a pretty smile have long been sought in the fearsome jaws of living sharks which have been considered living fossils reflecting the ancestral condition for vertebrate tooth development and inference of its evolution. However, this view ignores real fossils which more accurately reflect the nature of ancient ancestors.
New research led by the University of Bristol and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center published in
Nature Ecology and Evolution reveals that the dentitions of living shark relatives are entirely unrepresentative of the last shared ancestor of jawed vertebrates.
Side and oral views of a virtual model of the ischnacanthid acanthodian jaw showing the tooth-rows and reconstruction of the tooth replacement. Martin Rücklin, Naturalis Biodiversity Center Virtual section through the ischnacanthid acanthodian jaw showing growth lines and the addition of teeth used to reconstruct the tooth replacement. Martin Rücklin, Naturalis Biodiversity Center Share this article Press release issued: 6 May 2021 The origins of a pretty smile have long been sought in the fearsome jaws of living sharks which have been considered living fossils reflecting the ancestral condition for vertebrate tooth development and inference of its evolution. However, this view ignores real fossils which more accurately reflect the nature of ancient ancestors.
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IMAGE: Side and oral views of a virtual model of the ischnacanthid acanthodian jaw showing the tooth-rows and reconstruction of the tooth replacement. view more
Credit: Martin Rücklin, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
The origins of a pretty smile have long been sought in the fearsome jaws of living sharks which have been considered living fossils reflecting the ancestral condition for vertebrate tooth development and inference of its evolution. However, this view ignores real fossils which more accurately reflect the nature of ancient ancestors.
New research led by the University of Bristol and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center published in
Nature Ecology and Evolution reveals that the dentitions of living shark relatives are entirely unrepresentative of the last shared ancestor of jawed vertebrates.
Date Time
New study sheds light on deep evolutionary origins of human smile
Side and oral views of a virtual model of the ischnacanthid acanthodian jaw showing the tooth-rows and reconstruction of the tooth replacement. Martin Rücklin, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Virtual section through the ischnacanthid acanthodian jaw showing growth lines and the addition of teeth used to reconstruct the tooth replacement. Martin Rücklin, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
The origins of a pretty smile have long been sought in the fearsome jaws of living sharks which have been considered living fossils reflecting the ancestral condition for vertebrate tooth development and inference of its evolution. However, this view ignores real fossils which more accurately reflect the nature of ancient ancestors.
Fossilised beetle poo sheds light on prehistoric pollinator diets
Ecological reconstruction of a prehistoric beetle pollinating flowers. Image: Jie Sun
Researchers have used a beetle fossilised in amber to learn more about prehistoric pollinator-flower systems.
A new study claims that some ancient pollinators didn’t just transport pollen, but fed on it too. Researchers at the University of Bristol and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have unearthed new findings using a prehistoric pollinator fossil.
Pollinators are some of the most important organisms on Earth. They carry pollen from one flowering plant to another, servicing more than 180,000 plant species and more than 1,200 crops.