The mysterious tooth in the forehead of a ghost shark, a creature that makes science panic!

The discovery of a mysterious tooth in the middle of the ghost shark's forehead has stunned scientists. This creature has opened a new direction of research on flexible evolution. This detail also shows the diversity and mystery of creatures at the bottom of the ocean.

In the depths of the ocean, where light cannot reach, there exists an incredibly strange creature: the chimaera shark, also known as the ghost shark. Not only possessing a haunting appearance with glowing eyes, a long whip-like tail and strong jaws, this fish also shocked the scientific community with a unique structure: teeth growing on... the forehead.

While most fish use their teeth for eating, male chimaera sharks use their frontal teeth for a completely different purpose: reproduction. Behind this anomaly lies an evolutionary story spanning hundreds of millions of years that modern science is only just beginning to unravel. According to Science magazine, chimaera sharks are deep-sea cartilaginous fish, distantly related to sharks and rays. They diverged from a common ancestor about 400 million years ago and have evolved in separate directions.

When evolution creates differences

Unlike regular sharks, which have sharp, continuously replaced teeth, chimaeras have large, permanent, plate-shaped teeth, specialized for crushing shellfish like snails, crabs, and crustaceans. However, what really surprised scientists was a small, fleshy growth on the male’s forehead that could retract, looking like a fishing rod. On it were many rows of curved, hook-like spines, never before seen in any other vertebrate.

This structure, called a tenaculum , has long puzzled scientists: are these dermal spines, reproductive spines, or actual teeth? A team of researchers including Karly Cohen, Gareth Fraser, and Michael Coates conducted a comprehensive analysis of the spotted ratfish—a common chimaera—using CT scans, histological analysis, and genetic data. The results showed that the spines on the tenaculum not only resemble real teeth, but are also derived from dental tissue, a type of tissue found only in the mouth.

The Secret of Ancient Fossils

Even fossils of ancient chimaeras dating back more than 300 million years show that the tenaculum once sat near the upper jaw, before migrating to the forehead over millions of years of evolution. This means that today’s frontal spines are essentially modified versions of teeth, repurposed from feeding to reproduction. They help males hold onto females during mating, a unique evolutionary strategy for survival in the harsh deep-sea environment.

This discovery not only sheds light on a mysterious creature in the natural world but also opens up a whole new perspective on the evolution of animals. It shows that seemingly impossible structures can exist and develop in ways that humans have never imagined. The chimaera shark is not only a strange creature, but also a living museum of evolutionary history, challenging all our current understanding of the natural world.

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