Instead, the teeth of sharks are attached to their gums. With jaws come teeth, and similar to humans and many other species, the teeth of a shark are not attached to its jaw. Overall, these layers are incredibly strong and sturdy. This provides strength sufficient enough to bite into and break up its prey. The more layers, the more strength the shark will have. A minority of sharks can have more than one, or even up to five layers of these blocks. The majority of sharks have only one layer of these tesserae blocks. But at the same time, Tesserae are very light and flexible – just like cartilage. This is provided by blocks which, due to their structure, are described as “Tesserae”.Ī shark’s Tessellated cartilage is a mosaic of small mineralized blocks of calcium that give greater structural support. The cartilage support a jaw requires (and parts of the backbone) needs to be stronger. Is a shark’s jaw made of bone?Ī shark’s jaw is not connected to its skull. A baby’s head is also in a delicate stage of chondrocranium.īut as humans grow our body parts – including our skulls, form bones as an inner layer of these cartilages. Just as the legs of newborn humans and during very early life exhibit flexibilities which can be seen when a baby is learning to walk. The word “chondro” is derived from the word Chondrichthyes. Regarding a shark’s skull, they are called chondrocranium. So different parts of the body have variable densities of cartilages.Ī shark’s jaw is also made out of cartilage, again in a much denser form than found in other areas of the body. Some parts of the shark’s body have heavier or denser cartilage than other areas.Ī shark’s vertebrate has much denser cartilages than its outer structure. Cartilage density in various areas of the shark Enough to offer this animal all the strength and capabilities to do what it needs to achieve in the water. Cartilages still provide enough support and strength for structures to form.Ĭartilage in sharks body is very well structured. Their entire structure depends on cartilages. This is when the bones have not fully ossified around the cartilage core.īut with a shark, no bones are growing, or will ever grow. This is the reason why newborns have rubbery and flexible legs when they begin to walk. Cartilages are much more flexible than bones.Ĭartilage is a rubbery tissue framework, it can often harden into bone. This is because these two areas are made out of cartilages. We do have areas that are flexible though. This is because we have bones, and bones are strong, rigid, and inflexible. Simply trying to bend your forearm, or your thigh is impossible. You can understand the difference between bone and cartilage in your own body. To make it even clearer, here’s a detailed explanation. Unlike most vertebrate animals – even us humans, sharks have a lightweight structure of cartilages. Do sharks have bones What sharks have instead of bones