104
plastically deform under load. Collagen provides toughness to bone making it less
brittle so that it better resists fracture,” (Turner 2006 ). Activities of individual genes,
evolutionary processes like “fi sh-to-tetrapod” transition, or physiological loading
during life, were factors that determined corresponding changes in whole-bone
morphology. The brief analysis of marine vertebrate bones represented above,
shows that the complexity of bone’s properties arises from the complexity in its
hierarchical structure and chemical composition. Unfortunately, acellular and
dermal bones are still poorly investigated from a biomaterials point of view. Most
attention has been payed to endochondral bone that differs from the other connective tissues because of its greater stiffness and strength, compared to its weight.
These properties follow from it being a heterogeneous and anisotropic composite
biomaterial (Katz and Bronzino 2000 ).
The marine vertebrate bones give us numerous tasks related to understanding
structure-function relationships, which have been developed over the long course of
animal evolution. For example, “de Bufférnil and Casinos ( 1995 ) discovered the
densest known bone in the rostrum of the ziphiid whale M. densirostris , whose
skeleton is otherwise greatly lightened,” (Taylor 2000 ). It was suggested (Taylor
2000 ) that this dense bone provides “sound tracts that are in some way involved
with the transmission or reception of echolocation pulses, perhaps at frequencies
which males exploit more than females,” (Taylor 2000 ). However, probably, similar
to the sexually dimorphic sound-producing crests of hadrosaurian dinosaurs, this
phenomenon is related to some special aspect of communication by males within
whale’s communities. All together, I have no doubts that different types of bones in
marine fi sh, reptilian, birds and mammals hold immense promise for contributing to
advances in biological materials science, bionics and biomimetics.
3.2 Teeth
Abstract The ancestor of recent marine vertebrate teeth was a denticle, the
tooth- like structure, on the outer body surface of jawless fi shes. This chapter covers
the diversity of the tooth-like structures (odontodes, keratinized, rostral, pharyngeal,
extra-oral and extra-mandibular teeth) and oral “true teeth”. Their shape and forms
(folded teeth and hypermineralized tooth plates), material properties, as well as a
broad variety of biological materials (enameloid, enamel, dentine, petrodentine,
isopedine, plicidentine, durodentine, keratine etc.) they are made of in marine
vertebrates both within extinct and extant taxa are discussed. Special attention is
paid to the structure and material properties of shark and whale teeth, as well as to
the unique narwhal and walrus tusks.
Tooth is defi ned as “ a mineralized hard tissue unit consisting of attachment bony basal
pad, dentine or similar dentinous tissue. Sometimes there is a superfi cial layer of
enamel/enameloid formed from a single papilla present only in the oropharyngeal
3 Biocomposites and Mineralized Tissues
plastically deform under load. Collagen provides toughness to bone making it less
brittle so that it better resists fracture,” (Turner 2006 ). Activities of individual genes,
evolutionary processes like “fi sh-to-tetrapod” transition, or physiological loading
during life, were factors that determined corresponding changes in whole-bone
morphology. The brief analysis of marine vertebrate bones represented above,
shows that the complexity of bone’s properties arises from the complexity in its
hierarchical structure and chemical composition. Unfortunately, acellular and
dermal bones are still poorly investigated from a biomaterials point of view. Most
attention has been payed to endochondral bone that differs from the other connective tissues because of its greater stiffness and strength, compared to its weight.
These properties follow from it being a heterogeneous and anisotropic composite
biomaterial (Katz and Bronzino 2000 ).
The marine vertebrate bones give us numerous tasks related to understanding
structure-function relationships, which have been developed over the long course of
animal evolution. For example, “de Bufférnil and Casinos ( 1995 ) discovered the
densest known bone in the rostrum of the ziphiid whale M. densirostris , whose
skeleton is otherwise greatly lightened,” (Taylor 2000 ). It was suggested (Taylor
2000 ) that this dense bone provides “sound tracts that are in some way involved
with the transmission or reception of echolocation pulses, perhaps at frequencies
which males exploit more than females,” (Taylor 2000 ). However, probably, similar
to the sexually dimorphic sound-producing crests of hadrosaurian dinosaurs, this
phenomenon is related to some special aspect of communication by males within
whale’s communities. All together, I have no doubts that different types of bones in
marine fi sh, reptilian, birds and mammals hold immense promise for contributing to
advances in biological materials science, bionics and biomimetics.
3.2 Teeth
Abstract The ancestor of recent marine vertebrate teeth was a denticle, the
tooth- like structure, on the outer body surface of jawless fi shes. This chapter covers
the diversity of the tooth-like structures (odontodes, keratinized, rostral, pharyngeal,
extra-oral and extra-mandibular teeth) and oral “true teeth”. Their shape and forms
(folded teeth and hypermineralized tooth plates), material properties, as well as a
broad variety of biological materials (enameloid, enamel, dentine, petrodentine,
isopedine, plicidentine, durodentine, keratine etc.) they are made of in marine
vertebrates both within extinct and extant taxa are discussed. Special attention is
paid to the structure and material properties of shark and whale teeth, as well as to
the unique narwhal and walrus tusks.
Tooth is defi ned as “ a mineralized hard tissue unit consisting of attachment bony basal
pad, dentine or similar dentinous tissue. Sometimes there is a superfi cial layer of
enamel/enameloid formed from a single papilla present only in the oropharyngeal
3 Biocomposites and Mineralized Tissues