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Stingray jaws strut their stuff

Nature volume 395, pages 450–451 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The cartilaginous skeleton of sharks and rays imposes functional limitations that are not seen in bony fishes. Cartilage is less dense than bone, which helps chondrichthyan (cartilaginous) fishes maintain near neutral buoyancy, but cartilage is also less stiff and strong than bone. Nevertheless, some stingrays routinely use their cartilaginous jaws and pavement-like dentition to crush hard prey, such as snails and mussels1. We have studied the cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, to investigate how cartilaginous jaws can be used to crush hard-shelled prey. The jaws are composed of ‘trabecular cartilage’, a material that is structurally and functionally convergent with the trabecular bone found in osteichthyan (bony) fishes and tetrapods.

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Figure 1: Trabeculae of the cownose stingray, Rhinoptera bonasus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, 01003, Massachusetts, USA

    Adam P. Summers & Elizabeth L. Brainerd

  2. Shriner's Hospital for Children, Tampa, 33612, Florida, USA

    Thomas J. Koob

Authors
  1. Adam P. Summers
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  2. Thomas J. Koob
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  3. Elizabeth L. Brainerd
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Summers, A., Koob, T. & Brainerd, E. Stingray jaws strut their stuff. Nature 395, 450–451 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/26649

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