Shearing Tooth Morphology May Allow Sharks to Access Higher Trophic Levels at Smaller Sizes.

ABSTRACT: The availability of prey in an environment does not ensure that a predator will consume it: prey must also be detected, captured, and successfully handled. The morphology of the predator and prey imposes limitations on prey selection due to biomechanical constraints, making some prey functionally inaccessible. Morphological factors, including but not limited to tooth shape, body size, and mouth gape, therefore impose constraints on predator trophic niches. We assessed how two important components of trophic morphology (tooth shape and body length) may influence prey selectivity and trophic niche in two large-bodied sympatric sharks with contrasting foraging strategies. The first species captures prey using spear-shaped, grasping teeth (grey nurse/sand tiger/raggedtooth shark, Carcharias

SUBMITTER: Riveron S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12306977 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature