title: Cutting blade dentitions in squaliform sharks form by modification of inherited alternate tooth ordering patterns.
abstract: The squaliform sharks represent one of the most speciose shark clades. Many adult squaliforms have blade-like teeth, either on both jaws or restricted to the lower jaw, forming a continuous, serrated blade along the jaw margin. These teeth are replaced as a single unit and successor teeth lack the alternate arrangement present in other elasmobranchs. Micro-CT scans of embryos of squaliforms and a related outgroup (Pristiophoridae) revealed that the squaliform dentition pattern represents a highly modified version of tooth replacement seen in other clades. Teeth ofSqualusembryos are arranged in an alternate pattern, with successive tooth rows containing additional teeth added proximally. Asynchronous timing of tooth production along the jaw and tooth loss prior to birth cause teeth to align in oblique sets containing teeth from subsequent rows; these become parallel to the jaw margin during ontogeny, so that adultSqualushas functional tooth rows comprising obliquely stacked teeth of consecutive developmental rows. In more strongly heterodont squaliforms, initial embryonic lower teeth develop into the oblique functional sets seen in adultSqualus, with no requirement to form, and subsequently lose, teeth arranged in an initial alternate pattern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK; Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK.
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5337-3316
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Underwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck , University of London , London ,  UK.
authors.forename: Zerina
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8444-6776
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Johanson
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK; Dental Institute, Craniofacial Development, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Moya Meredith
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Smith
keywords: Squalus; evolution of teeth; replacement pattern; sharks; squaliforms