Spines and tissues of ancient sharks

M. I. Coates (), S. E. K. Sequeira, I. J. Sansom and M. M. Smith
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M. I. Coates: University College London
S. E. K. Sequeira: University College London
I. J. Sansom: School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham
M. M. Smith: School of Dentistry, UMDS Guy's Hospital Campus

Nature, 1998, vol. 396, issue 6713, 729-730

Abstract: Abstract The ‘spine-brush complex’1 of the extinct, mid-Palaeozoic primitive chondrichthyan shark Stethacanthus is one of the strangest vertebrate appendages known. Its structure has never been defined, but here we reveal that the ‘brush’ is actually an enlarged, specialized extension of the fin baseplate (basal cartilage2). It consists of an unusual type of globular calcified cartilage, a tissue that is often associated with pre-jawed primitive vertebrates3.

Date: 1998
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DOI: 10.1038/25467

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