Microstructural morphology of dermal and oral denticles of the sharpnose sevengill shark Heptranchias perlo (Elasmobranchii: Hexanchidae), a deep-water species.

Abstract

The dermal denticles are among the unique morphological adaptations of sharks, which have been acquired throughout their long evolutionary process of more than 400 million years. Species-specific morphological characteristics of these structures has been applied specially as tools for functional and taxonomic (family-level) studies. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the diversity of denticle structure in different around the body and oral cavity. In the present study, we described the morphological differences observed in skin and oral cavity of sharpnose sevengill shark Heptranchias perlo, using scanning electron microscopy. Our findings demonstrate substantial variation in morphological structure of the denticles of the body and oral cavity. Overall, the dermal denticles observed across body surface were overlapped, tricuspid, with the central cuspid being more pronounced, pointed, and triangular in shape compared with lateral ones. Unlike, the denticles on the tip of the nose had a smooth crown, with rounded edges, being compact, and overlapped. The oral denticles were found in the ventral and dorsal region of the oral cavity. They also were tricuspid, but with differences in arrangement and ridges. These results suggest a strict functional relationship with the morphological characteristics observed. Such morphological diversity body-region-dependent highlights the need for comparative studies that include oral denticles, since this structure has an important functional role in sharks and can be found in fossil and recent records.