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Heterodonty and ontogenetic shift dynamics in the dentition of the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier (Chondrichthyes, Galeocerdidae).

ABSTRACT: The lifelong tooth replacement in elasmobranch fishes (sharks, rays and skates) has led to the assemblage of a great number of teeth from fossil and extant species, rendering tooth morphology an important character for taxonomic descriptions, analysing phylogenetic interrelationships and deciphering their evolutionary history (e.g. origination, divergence, extinction). Heterodonty (exhibition of different tooth morphologies) occurs in most elasmobranch species and has proven to be one of the main challenges for these analyses. Although numerous shark species are discovered and described every year, detailed descriptions of tooth morphologies and heterodonty patterns are lacking or are only insufficiently known for most species. Here, we use landmark-based 2D geometric morphometrics on teeth of the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier to analyse and describe dental heterodonties among four different ontogenetic stages ranging from embryo to adult. Our results reveal rather gradual and subtle ontogenetic shape changes, mostly characterized by increasing size and complexity of the teeth. We furthermore provide the first comprehensive description of embryonic dental morphologies in tiger sharks. Also, tooth shapes of tiger sharks in different ontogenetic stages are re-assessed and depicted in detail. Finally, multiple cases of tooth file reversal are described. This study, therefore, contributes to our knowledge of dental traits across ontogeny in the extant tiger shark G. cuvier and provides a baseline for further morphological and genetic studies on the dental variation in sharks. Therefore, it has the potential to assist elucidating the underlying developmental and evolutionary processes behind the vast dental diversity observed in elasmobranch fishes today and in deep time.

SUBMITTER: Turtscher J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9296035 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Knowledge of the habitat use and migration patterns of large sharks is important for assessing the effectiveness of large predator Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), vulnerability to fisheries and environmental influences, and management of shark-human interactions. Here we compare movement, reef-fidelity, and ocean migration for tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, across the Coral Sea, with an emphasis on New Caledonia. Thirty-three tiger sharks (1.54 to 3.9 m total length) were tagged with passive acoustic transmitters and their localised movements monitored on receiver arrays in New Caledonia, the Chesterfield and Lord Howe Islands in the Coral Sea, and the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Satellite tags were also used to determine habitat use and movements among habitats across the Coral Sea. Sub-adults and one male adult tiger shark displayed year-round residency in the Chesterfields with two females tagged in the Chesterfields and detected on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, after 591 and 842 days respectively. In coastal barrier reefs, tiger sharks were transient at acoustic arrays and each individual demonstrated a unique pattern of occurrence. From 2009 to 2013, fourteen sharks with satellite and acoustic tags undertook wide-ranging movements up to 1114 km across the Coral Sea with eight detected back on acoustic arrays up to 405 days after being tagged. Tiger sharks dove 1136 m and utilised three-dimensional activity spaces averaged at 2360 km³. The Chesterfield Islands appear to be important habitat for sub-adults and adult male tiger sharks. Management strategies need to consider the wide-ranging movements of large (sub-adult and adult) male and female tiger sharks at the individual level, whereas fidelity to specific coastal reefs may be consistent across groups of individuals. Coastal barrier reef MPAs, however, only afford brief protection for large tiger sharks, therefore determining the importance of other oceanic Coral Sea reefs should be a priority for future research.

Dataset Information

Heterodonty and ontogenetic shift dynamics in the dentition of the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier (Chondrichthyes, Galeocerdidae).

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