The evolution of the shark is not what most people would expect. Instead of sharks evolving from a massive predator, the original creature was a small, leaf-shaped fish. This fish lacked eyes and fins ...

In vertebrates, the skeleton of different regions of the body arises from different precursor cells. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that these skeletal cells do not ...

The study, published 20 November in Nature, shows a clear picture of how cartilage acts as a scaffold for bone development across the skeleton, apart from the top of the skull.

Sharks have been evolving for more than 450 million years, developing skeletons not from bone, but from a tough, mineralized form of cartilage. These creatures are more than just fast swimmers ...

This is the embryo of a veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) that’s been stained to visualize its developing skeleton. Its bones are red (1), the cartilage is blue (2), and some of its developing ...

Learning From Skeletons Skull Look for the sagittal suture – the squiggly line that runs the length of the skull – and note whether is it's completely fused.

From a Hercules beetle tough natural armor to a sea anemone’s soft fluid-filled body, nature boasts a variety of skeletons. A circa-1910 x-ray photograph of pot-bellied seahorses shows their ...

A malfunction in mitochondria’s energy system doesn’t just slow cells down – it may also trigger early-onset skeletal aging.. A new study from researchers at the University of Cologne, published in ...

While humans have 206 to 213 bones in our body, most sharks have about 200 to 400 structures made of cartilage. The exact number varies depending on the species. The only part of a shark's skeleton ...

Sharks belong to a group of creatures known as cartilaginous fishes, because most of their skeleton is made from cartilage rather than bone. The only part of their skeleton not made from this soft, ...

University of Basel. (2025, March 27). Cartilage and bone development: Three paths to skeleton formation. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 11, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2025 / 03 ...

A Shark Ancestor’s Skeleton Was Made Of Bone, Not Cartilage. Megalodons and other ancient sharks evolved from a sightless, finless, boneless fish. ©racksuz/Shutterstock.com.