Science Week 2018: The Whole Tooth: sharks ancient and modern in the sea, desert and lab
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck Clore Management Centre
No booking required
Speaker: Dr Charlie Underwood, Lecturer in Palaeontology
Sharks and their relatives, rays and chimaeras, are important within most modern marine ecosystems and are extremely diverse in their size, shape and ecology. They have a unique skeleton that lacks true bones and they form a group separate from all other (bone bearing) vertebrate animals. Shark and ray teeth are continuously replaced through their life, and the teeth are attached to the skin rather than the jaw bone as in other vertebrates. These major differences make sharks important in the understanding of how teeth evolved and whether they evolved once or multiple times.
Studies of teeth, and other tooth-like features, in modern and fossil sharks seeks to answer these problems. As many hard teeth are produced during the life of a shark, they can be very common fossils, and teeth can directly indicate the diet of the extinct animal. Fossil sharks can therefore be very useful in understanding ancient ecosystems and help interpret environments of the past.
This event is free and open to the public but you need to book your place through Eventbrite.