SHARK EVOLUTION

MISCONCEPTIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS
Source: http://elasmodiver.com/elasmobranch_evolution.htm

There are many misconceptions regarding the evolution of sharks and rays. Contrary to popular belief they have not remained unchanged for 300 million years. However, many of the families we have today have been in existence for perhaps the last 150 million years. Compared to our own paltry 3.5 million years this makes the elasmobranch lineage very ancient indeed. The fossil record is sketchy at best when it comes to sharks. Cartilage is preserved very poorly so the body structures of many early sharks are purely speculative. Fortunately for the paleontologists, sharks discard their teeth on a regular basis and these teeth which fossilize well are often enough to allow accurate identification of individual groups and help place them correctly in the evolutionary time line. One of the pitfalls of using fossilized teeth for identification is that the teeth of sharks sometimes vary significantly depending on which area of the jaw they have come from. In the past this has led to paleontologists inventing multiple species of extinct sharks that were actually the same animal. During a shark's lifetime it's dentition also may change which only adds to the confusion. In recent years there has been a revision of extinct species that paid more attention to the herero-dental nature of modern species, and consequently the list of extinct species has been paired down.

A WORLD BEFORE FISH...
How life first came about on earth is a burning question that many scientists and theologists have dedicated their entire careers to solving. Be it by chance or divine intervention, it is likely that super heated compounds developed a complexity at which point they were able to grow by absorbing the chemicals around them. Complex compounds are a far cry from even the most basic fishes but at some point (around 3.5 billion years ago) simple organisms started evolving. These most ancient forms of life on earth were called stromatolites and they may still be seen today. Stromatolites are simple organisms that cluster together and form mounds not unlike coral reefs but with a far less complex structure.

1.4 billion years later the first cells with a nucleus were ooching around looking for a way to take advantage of both the chemicals in their environment and each other. As is the nature of evolution, a radiation took place after this point that enabled these basic creatures to fill every niche that was available to them. By about 600 million years ago, multi-cellular organisms such as jellyfish, worms, sea-pens, and more obscure soft bodied invertebrates had taken over the ocean deserts.

540 million years ago near the beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon (which last to this day and is split into the Cambrian, Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Periods) Most of the modern groups of animals were developing. This era heralded the development of shelled creatures which have been preserved very well in the fossil record.

There is some conjecture regarding how primitive fishes managed to develop from these invertebrates. Most likely, fishes evolved from the larval forms of their predecessors. Most invertebrates release eggs and sperm which after combining, develop into free swimming, fish-like larvae. These larvae drift within the planktonic soup until they reach a point of metamorphosis. In many groups such as corals and tunicates this metamorphosis is highly dramatic, involving a complete restructuring of the body to adapt to a sessile lifestyle. However, if the planktonic environment were rich enough it would be prudent for some larvae to remain as free swimming organisms permanently. Which group of invertebrates are responsible for spawning the first fishes is not known but it is possible that it may have been the echinoderms (seastars and sea cucumbers) as they share an early cell developmental process with vertebrates. Some scientists believe that sea squirts are responsible. Recent fossil evidence also points to a now extinct animal called a conodont that was characteristically fish-like and may have been the true predecessor.

THE AGNATHA
Around 500 to 450 million years ago the first primitive fishes appeared in the fossil record. They were the Agnathans and they were characterized by two (dorsal and ventral) bony shields on the head with many trunk scales tapering towards a primitive caudal fin in which the notocord turned upwards rather like the sharks of today. Agnathans were very successful and diversified to dominate every niche available until well into the Devonian period towards the late Paleozoic. The various groups developed many of the characteristics associated with vertebrates today including: paired limbs, cellular bone, a complex sensory line system, dentine, and complex eyes and inner ears. Sadly these pioneers of all that represents our ancenstry, mostly vanished during the Devonian extinctions. Today the two remaining groups of agnatha are represented by the Hagfishes and Lampreys. They are jawless, limbless, and have cartilaginous skeletons.

THE RISE OF JAWED FISHES
At some point during the Ordovician Period also known as the early Paleozoic, the major groups separated themselves from eachother.

Between about 400 and 350 million years ago the seas were beginning to fill. The major groups were:

Osteichthyes - the bony fishes which eventually outnumbered all other vertebrates by species.

Crossopterygii - which split to form the Porolepiformes which evolved into salamanders and the Osteolepiformes which eventually evolved into frogs and toads, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Dipnoans - the lungfishes

Acanthodians - also called the spiny sharks - Superficially shark like with strong broad spines strengthening all of their fins except the caudal fin which was upturned (heterocercal) as in the true sharks. Their bodies were covered with small flat bony scales. The Acanthodians survived into the early permian about 200 million years ago.

Placoderms - a large group of fishes covered with big bony plates and blade like jaws that proliferated during the Devonian and then died out at the beginning of the carboniferous period.

Chondrichthyes - the cartilaginous fishes that evolved into today's sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras.

THE FIRST SHARK - Cladoselache
Although Chondrichthyes are rooted in the Ordovician period the first, well preserved early shark fossil to be discovered was Cladoselache dating from approximately 350 million years ago. The fossil of this shark was found miraculously intact in the Cleveland Shale of Lake Erie. It was so well preserved that its muscle fibers were visible as were its kidneys. Cladoselache Had two low dorsal fins both with prominent spines, broad based pectoral fins and eyes set far forward on the head. The mouth was at the front of the head as opposed to the under slung mouths of modern sharks, and the teeth had a large central pointed cusp with a smaller point on each side. Although cladoselache was almost certainly not the first ever true elasmobranch, armed with Cladoselache, Paleontologists were able to categorically state that elasmobranchs had arrived.

TWO VISIBLE SUBCLASSES
At the end of the Devonian another group of cartilaginous fish became evident. These fish known as Chimaeras or Ghost sharks had distinct mobility differences in their skeletal structure. The upper jaw was fused to the skull, the pectoral fins were large and able to flap unlike the rigid fins of sharks and their bodies tapered to a thin whip like tail. Due to the great distance between the chimaeras and the modern elasmobranchs, extant chimaeras are considered in the separate subclass Holocephali and presently consist of three families.

AN EXPLOSION OF FORMS
During the evolution of chrondrichthyes there have been many groups with bizarre appearances. Sometimes these families are collectively referred to as "paraselachians" . Many fossil skeletons contain unusual appendages. Most of which have as yet not been conclusively explained.
Some examples of these paraselachians include:

Stethacanthus - a Cladodont which lived through the Silurian Period between 380 and 300 million years ago. It had a modified first dorsal fin that terminated in a spine covered pad reminiscent of an inverted scrubbing brush. Its forehead also had a similar surface. These surfaces may have been used for pinning prey or for mating.

Helicoprion - from the Permian Period, had a conveyor belt of teeth that spiraled out of its lower jaw and a thin corresponding line of sharp teeth in the upper jaw. The lower whorl of teeth rotated out of the jaw as the shark grew. Unlike most sharks it retained the smaller previous teeth which rotated back into the jaw forming a spiral or whorl not unlike the growth pattern of a shell. The two dermal surfaces sliced against each other giving it a formidable shearing weapon.

Falcatus - from the carboniferous period had a curving, forward facing appendage in place of its first dorsal fin. It has been suggested that only the male may have had this sword like structure.

Xenacanthus - a member of the pleurocanthids. It had a long backward facing spike extending from the back of its skull and an eel like or ribbon like fin running down the length of its back.

Iniopteryx - Iniopterygians lived from the Devonian into the Carboniferous period. More closely related to modern day chimaeras, they had flexible pectoral fins which were disproportionately long and rayed for strength. It is unclear whether these "wings" were used to glide above the water or to paddle under it. The leading edge of the wings were covered with sharp toothy denticles.

Most of these evolutionary experiments were probably adaptations to the demands of life in an ever more competitive environment. During the Carboniferous Period the ranks of the sharks swelled to their greatest diversity ever but towards the beginning of the Permian Period many ancient forms became extinct along with the majority of the more experimental forms.

ENTER THE NEOSELACHIANS
As the Permian Period was drawing to a close the seas were filling with Actinopterygians - the ray finned fishes. This was a food source that could not be ignored by the oceans predators. In response the elasmobranchs began to radiate again and during the early Triassic a shark appeared in the fossil record that was similar enough in appearance to modern day sharks to be considered one of the first of the "modern sharks". The name of this shark was Palaeospinax.

Palaeospinax was morphologically similar to the dogfish of the family squalidae. It had a calcified sectioned vertebral column instead of a continuous notochord, its two dorsal fins had supportive leading edge spines, and most notably it had the under slung mouth of a modern shark.

NEOSELACHIAN RADIATION
Amongst the first of the presently extant sharks to swim in the seas were the slow swimming Horn sharks and the Cow sharks but towards the mid cretaceous the fair to be had in the mid oceans was enough to push the development of fast moving predators that could pick off large, schooling, off shore fishes. At the time the seas were ruled by enormous icthyosaurs and plesiosaurs so this new food source did not come without risk to the sharks.

During the Cretaceous most of the present genera were firmly established and then around 60 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous a catastrophe occurred which wiped out the dinosaurs and many other species, leaving the remaining sharks as the supreme rulers of the oceans.

CARCHARODON MEGALODON
About 50 million years ago a super predator evolved, the size of which the world had not previously seen. Megalodon was similar in shape and dentition to the White shark (Carcharodon carcharias) the most notorious shark of today's temperate oceans. Its size however was spectacular. The largest of its fossilized teeth that have been found to date have measured over six inches long from point to base. Extrapolating this information and using Carcharodon carcharias as a guide, it would not be unreasonable to assume that Megalodon reached somewhere between 50 to 100 feet in length. Sadly but perhaps just as well for us, no Megalodon have been seen for some time. Estimates on the time of its extinction vary widely. Some popular literature would like us to believe that Megalodon is still down there somewhere lurking in the shadows. More likely Megalodon faded away some time within the last 30 million years due to a combination of a waning food supply and a changing climate.

RAY RADIATION
Meanwhile, back at the end of the Triassic, at about the same time as Palaeospinax was swimming around the coastline of the super continent Pangaea, another group of sharks were adapting well to the bottom terrain of the shallow slopes. By the upper Jurassic Period the first guitarfishes were grubbing around for food and blending into the bottom sediments. These rays were a little more primitive than those of today. The main differences being a more shark like skeletal structure and the presence of fin spines. It has been suggested that all modern rays were derived from primitive guitarfishes but it is unclear exactly where the families are linked. The most recent addition to the batoid tree are the stingrays which showed up a mere 60 million years ago yet fill the shallows of most tropical and temperate continental waters.

Marine Biology Degree Programs in the U.S.

Marine Biology Degree Programs in the U.S.

The following is our list of all U.S. schools that offer degrees in Marine Biology. All links open in a new window linking directly to each school's marine biology program. To determine which school is right for you, you may want to consult the current rankings, but be forewarned that they are not always the best indicator of the "best" school. It is often better to make your own assessment based on the school's curricula, the experience of its faculty, and good laboratory facilities for hands on experience. To browse through a list of research facilities, click here. » Download the 256 page Admission Guide created by Franziska Elmer from Switzerland (700KB) - contains addresses, contact, student residential and program information as well as admission details for international students interested in Marine Biology degrees in the U.S. Thank you Franziska!

Contact us if you have any comments, changes or additions.

International Marine Biology Degree Programs »

Alabama
Alabama State University BS
Auburn University BS, MS, PhD
Samford University BS
Tuskegee University BS
University of Alabama BS, MS
University of North Alabama BS
University of South Alabama MS, PhD
University of West Alabama BS

Alaska Alaska Pacific University BS
University of Alaska Fairbanks MS, PhD
University of Alaska Southeast BS

California
California Lutheran University BA
California State University, Long Beach BS, MS
California State University (Moss Landing Marine Laboratories) MS
California State University Monterey Bay BS, MS
Humboldt State University BS, MS
San Diego State University BS
San Francisco State University BS, MA
San Jose State University BS
Sonoma State University BS
University of California Berkeley BS, MS, PhD
University of California Los Angeles BS
University of California Santa Barbara BS, MS, PhD
University of California Santa Cruz BS
Univ of California San Diego (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)University of San Diego BA, MS in Marine Science
University of Southern California PhD

Connecticut
University of New Haven BS
University of Connecticut BS, BA

Florida Barry University BS
Eckerd College BS
Florida Atlantic University BS, MS
Florida Institute of Technology BS, MS, PhD
Florida International University BS
Florida Keys Community College AS
Florida State University BS
Jacksonville University BS
Nova Southeastern University BS, MS, PhD
Stetson University BS
University of Florida: Fisheries/Aquatic Sciences (FAS) BS, MS, PhD
University of Miami: Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science BS, MA, MS, PhD
University of South Florida BS, MS, PhD
University of Tampa BS
University of West Florida BS

Georgia
University of Georgia BS, MS, PhD

Hawaii
Hawaii Pacific University BS
University of Hawaii Hilo BS
University of Hawaii - Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology BS

Kansas
Southwestern College BS

Louisiana
Nicholls State University BS, MS

Maine
Maine Maritime Academy BS
Unity College BS
University of Maine BS, MS, PhD
University of Maine Machias BS
University of New England BS

Maryland
University of Maryland MS, PhD

Massachusetts
Boston University MA, PhD
Hampshire College BS
Harvard College summer program only
Salem State College BS
Suffolk University BS
University of Massachusetts Darmouth BS

Mississippi
University of Southern Mississippi Coastal Science MS, PhD
University of Southern Mississippi Marine Science BS, MS, PhD

New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire - Marine Program BS, MS, PhD

New Jersey
Fairleigh Dickinson University BS
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey BS
Rutgers BS, MS, PhD

New York
Hofstra University BA, MA, MS
Long Island University, Southampton College BS, BA
State University of New York BS
State University of New York - Stony Brook BS, MS, PhD

North Carolina
Duke University BS, MEM (Master of Environmental Management), PhDUniversity of North Carolina Chapel Hill MS, PhD
University of North Carolina Wilmington BS, MS, PhD

Ohio
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Aquatic and Marine Science BS Biology with an emphasis in marine and freshwater science
Ohio University BS

Oregon
University of Oregon BS(eMB), MS, PhD

Pennsylvania
Bloomsburg University BS
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania BS

Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico Hunacao BS
University of Puerto Rico Myaguez Campus MS, PhD

Rhode Island
Roger Williams University BS, BA
University of Rhode Island BS

South Carolina
Coastal Carolina University BS, MS
College of Charleston BS, MS
Medical University of South Carolina MS
University of South Carolina BS, MS, PhD

Texas
Texas A&M University Corpus Christi BS, MS
Texas A&M University Galveston BS, MS
University of Texas at Austin BS

Virginia
College of William and Mary MS, PhD
Hampton University BS
Old Dominion University BS, MS, PhD

Washington
Seattle Pacific University BA, BS
University of Washington: Marine Biology BS
University of Washington: School of Aquatic and Fishery Science BS, MS, PhD
Western Washington University BS, MS

Wisconsin
Carroll College BS
Lawrence University BS
University of Wisconsin Superior BS

Graduate School Directory for Marine Sciences »

« Back to MarineBio Education & Career Resources

Whale Watching in Peninsula Valdés, Argentina

Whale Watching in Peninsula Valdés, Argentina - A Personal Experience
by Genevieve Johnson

Everybody remembers seeing their first whale, and most people experience their first close encounter on a whale watch trip. For me, it was a magnificent blue whale off Monterey Bay, California. But watching whales in Patagonia is a whale watching experience like no other, watching whales here, is truly a close encounter!.

Southern right whales in Peninsula Valdés are perhaps the best-known wild cetaceans on earth. I made my first acquaintance with these right whales last year, and felt compelled to return to see them again.
The whale watching industry has boomed in the last two decades, and is the best way there is to get people excited about whales, and in turn, excited about the oceans. Getting up close and personal with one of the biggest animals ever to live on the planet is a humbling experience. One is simply not prepared for anything to be that large.

I joined about 60 other whale watchers on a large catamaran. I participate in whale and dolphin watches all over the world, but nothing compares to Patagonia. You really don't even have to go on a boat to whale watch, they really are that close to shore, just look at the photo!
We are on the water for less than two minutes, and less than a kilometer from shore before we are with a mother and calf pair. Four other boats are near by, but there is no need to share our whales, there are plenty to go around. I do a quick blow count and there is at least 8 whales within the immediate vicinity. This is not an exceptional day, this happens everyday between June and December in Gulfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdés.
As I stand mesmerized at the hand rail, its almost unfathomable that these animals come anywhere near us after the near annihilation of their species, by our own. I take a moment, reluctantly turning from the whales, but I am almost equally intrigued by the looks on the faces of the tourists. I sit for a moment, watching people, watching whales. No spectacle on earth that I know of, can cause the same expression on every single face in a crowd, sheer awe!

The potential for power is belied by the ponderous grace of the 50-ton bulk of the right whale, which actually appears to move in slow motion. Suddenly a whale explodes through the surface off our bow, even when breaching these whales give the appearance of moving slower than they ought too. Propelling a 50-foot, 50-ton body is a feat requiring phenomenal amounts of strength and speed.

I befriend a British couple as a right whale mother rests her giant head not less than 2 feet from the starboard beam of the boat. She has maintained this position for fully 10 minutes as her calf swims boisterously around the boat, she appears as content as her baby is playful - the crowd is mesmerized, and so am I. The British couple tell me they have never seen a whale before and know nothing about them. They were traveling through Argentina and a friend told them the whales were a 'must see.' With nothing better to do today, they decided to give it a go. They have filled the two memory cards for digital camera. As I stand beside them, they cannot stop smiling, yet can't quite bring themselves to speak coherently. This is the effect whales have on people, This is the power of whales, and this is the value of whale watching! And with more countries starting whale watching tourism, and more people watching whales, the desire to protect them and their habitat is growing.
There is some criticism of whale watching, but if well regulated, which most are now, there is no problem. Simply do a little research before choosing an operator.

So if you want on help the whales and the oceans, go out on a whale watch, learn more about whales. A percentage of your money goes back into the local community, and often conservation efforts. Seeing a whale will change you forever, ask anyone who has been whale watching, and then try it for yourself. Who said you can't have the time of your life and help the environment at the same time!

Source of articles: http://www.earthocean.tv/series/whale_watching.html
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