Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses
Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans reached body sizes similar to modern great white sharks and therefore might have been apex predators of the Devonian seas. However, very little is known about the diet and feeding behaviours of these large ancestral sharks. To reconstruct their ecological properti...
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The Royal Society
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240936 |
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| author | Merle Greif Ivan Calandra Stephan Lautenschlager Thomas M. Kaiser Mohammed Mezane Christian Klug |
| author_facet | Merle Greif Ivan Calandra Stephan Lautenschlager Thomas M. Kaiser Mohammed Mezane Christian Klug |
| author_sort | Merle Greif |
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| description | Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans reached body sizes similar to modern great white sharks and therefore might have been apex predators of the Devonian seas. However, very little is known about the diet and feeding behaviours of these large ancestral sharks. To reconstruct their ecological properties, teeth of the large Famennian (Late Devonian) chondrichthyan Ctenacanthus concinnus from the Anti-Atlas, Morocco, were analysed. The teeth show strong tooth wear with deep horizontal as well as vertical scratches. Dental microwear texture analysis, a well-established method for the reconstruction of diet and commonly used in terrestrial vertebrates, was applied for the first time, to our knowledge, to Palaeozoic vertebrates in this study. Furthermore, finite element analysis was performed to test the biomechanical properties of the teeth. By combining both analyses, as well as palaeoenvironmental data and tooth morphology, we demonstrate that the results from only one method can be insufficient and misleading. Ctenacanthus concinnus most likely was an opportunistic feeder like many modern sharks. Direct evidence and the results of our analyses suggest that Ctenacanthus fed on ectocochleate cephalopods, other chondrichthyans and further vertebrates using a combination of head movements including lateral head shaking to cut large prey items. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ce0d5ccead5248c8b8868a875741d23f |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
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| spelling | doaj-art-ce0d5ccead5248c8b8868a875741d23f2025-01-29T00:06:33ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-01-0112110.1098/rsos.240936Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analysesMerle Greif0Ivan Calandra1Stephan Lautenschlager2Thomas M. Kaiser3Mohammed Mezane4Christian Klug5Department of Palaeontology, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, Zurich 8006, SwitzerlandImaging Platform at LEIZA (IMPALA), and Laboratory for Traceology and Controlled Experiments (TraCEr), MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre, Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Neuwied 56567, GermanySchool of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UKCentre for Taxonomy and Morphology, Section Mammalogy and Paleoanthropology, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, Hamburg 20146, GermanyMerzouga Errachidia Province, Merzouga BO 520202, MoroccoDepartment of Palaeontology, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, Zurich 8006, SwitzerlandDevonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans reached body sizes similar to modern great white sharks and therefore might have been apex predators of the Devonian seas. However, very little is known about the diet and feeding behaviours of these large ancestral sharks. To reconstruct their ecological properties, teeth of the large Famennian (Late Devonian) chondrichthyan Ctenacanthus concinnus from the Anti-Atlas, Morocco, were analysed. The teeth show strong tooth wear with deep horizontal as well as vertical scratches. Dental microwear texture analysis, a well-established method for the reconstruction of diet and commonly used in terrestrial vertebrates, was applied for the first time, to our knowledge, to Palaeozoic vertebrates in this study. Furthermore, finite element analysis was performed to test the biomechanical properties of the teeth. By combining both analyses, as well as palaeoenvironmental data and tooth morphology, we demonstrate that the results from only one method can be insufficient and misleading. Ctenacanthus concinnus most likely was an opportunistic feeder like many modern sharks. Direct evidence and the results of our analyses suggest that Ctenacanthus fed on ectocochleate cephalopods, other chondrichthyans and further vertebrates using a combination of head movements including lateral head shaking to cut large prey items.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240936DevonianDMTAchondrichthyansfeeding behaviourtooth wearFEA |
| spellingShingle | Merle Greif Ivan Calandra Stephan Lautenschlager Thomas M. Kaiser Mohammed Mezane Christian Klug Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses Royal Society Open Science Devonian DMTA chondrichthyans feeding behaviour tooth wear FEA |
| title | Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses |
| title_full | Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses |
| title_fullStr | Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses |
| title_short | Reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in Devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses |
| title_sort | reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet in devonian ctenacanth chondrichthyans using dental microwear texture and finite element analyses |
| topic | Devonian DMTA chondrichthyans feeding behaviour tooth wear FEA |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240936 |
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