v
Pref ace
The higher chordate subgroup includes all the vertebrates: fi sh, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals. All of them are found in marine environments and coastal
regions. Probably the animal that more closely defi nes human thoughts of life in the
sea is a fi sh. In fact, fi sh are an ancient group of animals whose origins date back
more than 500 million years. They are the most common and diverse group of animals with backbones in the ocean and in the world today.
These animals are the real goldmine for material scientists because of their astonishing variety of shapes and sizes, as well as the diversity of biological materials that
compose their organs and structures. Herein are only a few examples. Fish possess
structures as barbels, claspers, denticles, scales, egg-cases, oral and pharyngeal teeth,
bones, otoliths, cartilage, swim bladders, sucking disks, epidermal brushes, fi ns, pelvic spines and girdle, gills and bony operculums, unculi and breeding tubercles, and
even wings in the case of fl ying fi sh. All of the listed structures are hierarchically
organised from nano to micro and macro scales. They possess very specifi c biopolymers like collagens, elastoidines, elastins, keratins, and other cross-linked structural
macromolecules. Moreover, we can also fi nd such unique biocomposites of fi sh origin
with exotic names as hyaloine, ganoine, or cosmine. Did you know that terms as
enameloid, adameloid, coronoin, acrodin, and prelomin are related to fi sh scales? Or
the recent research detailing differences between orthodentine and osteodentine,
durodentine and vasodentine, plicidentine and mesodentine, semidentine and petrodentine, or elasmoidine, as forms of dentine in different fi sh species? If no, I hope you
are now intrigued by this book, which was announced in my fi rst monograph entitled
Biological Materials of Marine Origin: Invertebrates published by Springer in 2010.
In addition to fi sh, I also analyse biological materials from marine turtles, iguanas, snakes, and crocodiles as well as sea birds. Special attention is paid to whales
and dolphins, as representatives of marine mammals. In terms of species number,
marine mammals are a relatively small taxonomic group; yet given their biomass
and position in the food web, they represent an ecologically important part of marine
biodiversity. Furthermore they are of signifi cant conservation concern, with 23 % of
species currently threatened by extinction. Therefore, marine mammals often
feature prominently in marine conservation planning and protected area design.
Pref ace
The higher chordate subgroup includes all the vertebrates: fi sh, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals. All of them are found in marine environments and coastal
regions. Probably the animal that more closely defi nes human thoughts of life in the
sea is a fi sh. In fact, fi sh are an ancient group of animals whose origins date back
more than 500 million years. They are the most common and diverse group of animals with backbones in the ocean and in the world today.
These animals are the real goldmine for material scientists because of their astonishing variety of shapes and sizes, as well as the diversity of biological materials that
compose their organs and structures. Herein are only a few examples. Fish possess
structures as barbels, claspers, denticles, scales, egg-cases, oral and pharyngeal teeth,
bones, otoliths, cartilage, swim bladders, sucking disks, epidermal brushes, fi ns, pelvic spines and girdle, gills and bony operculums, unculi and breeding tubercles, and
even wings in the case of fl ying fi sh. All of the listed structures are hierarchically
organised from nano to micro and macro scales. They possess very specifi c biopolymers like collagens, elastoidines, elastins, keratins, and other cross-linked structural
macromolecules. Moreover, we can also fi nd such unique biocomposites of fi sh origin
with exotic names as hyaloine, ganoine, or cosmine. Did you know that terms as
enameloid, adameloid, coronoin, acrodin, and prelomin are related to fi sh scales? Or
the recent research detailing differences between orthodentine and osteodentine,
durodentine and vasodentine, plicidentine and mesodentine, semidentine and petrodentine, or elasmoidine, as forms of dentine in different fi sh species? If no, I hope you
are now intrigued by this book, which was announced in my fi rst monograph entitled
Biological Materials of Marine Origin: Invertebrates published by Springer in 2010.
In addition to fi sh, I also analyse biological materials from marine turtles, iguanas, snakes, and crocodiles as well as sea birds. Special attention is paid to whales
and dolphins, as representatives of marine mammals. In terms of species number,
marine mammals are a relatively small taxonomic group; yet given their biomass
and position in the food web, they represent an ecologically important part of marine
biodiversity. Furthermore they are of signifi cant conservation concern, with 23 % of
species currently threatened by extinction. Therefore, marine mammals often
feature prominently in marine conservation planning and protected area design.