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Spines and tissues of ancient sharks

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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.

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Figure 1: Structure and histology of the ‘spine-brush complex’ in the primitive shark Stethacanthus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    M. I. Coates & S. E. K. Sequeira

  2. School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    I. J. Sansom

  3. Department of Craniofacial Development, School of Dentistry, UMDS Guy's Hospital Campus, London, SE1 9RT, UK

    M. M. Smith

Authors
  1. M. I. Coates
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  2. S. E. K. Sequeira
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  3. I. J. Sansom
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  4. M. M. Smith
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Coates, M., Sequeira, S., Sansom, I. et al. Spines and tissues of ancient sharks. Nature 396, 729–730 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/25467

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