Abstract
The jaws of elasmobranchs are suspended from the chondrocranium, and jaw protrusion during feeding enhances prey capture. Although all elasmobranchs have the same mode of tooth attachment and continuous replacement, tooth form varies considerably and includes conical piercing teeth, blade-like slicing teeth, and rounded crushing teeth. Most sharks are high-level predators that use biting and suction to capture prey. Three species feed by filtering plankton from the water. Suction, achieved by expansion of the buccal and hyoid cavities as the mouth opens, is most important in bottom-feeding species. Variations in form of shark teeth reflect different functions, such as grasping, slicing, or crushing. Shark dentitions may be homodont, consisting of teeth all with similar form. However, heterodont dentitions in which tooth form varies between different regions of the jaws are common. Heterodont dentitions combine different functions, such as grasping and cutting, or grasping and crushing.
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