Tooth Root Tumors

[Roz]

I went to Arkansas to hunt over the

weekend. One stop was at the river

where I found this tooth with what I

think is a tumor. Is that what it is?

I don't think fish have a complex

nervous system, so probably didn't feel pain.

I was told that as a kid and don't even know if it

is true or not. So maybe shark's felt

pain?

[Serack]

I have heard several times that sharks don't get cancer, but then again not all tumors are cancerous.

Not sure if that adds anything to the topic though lol

[Guest bmorefossil]

I have heard several times that sharks don't get cancer, but then again not all tumors are cancerous.

Not sure if that adds anything to the topic though lol

what if the tooth got infected, could it do something like this to the tooth?

[Roz]

I did some searching and I understand

sharks can get cancer but have a

protective shield against it.

Cancer in Sharks Article

This article, linked below, has information

of some studies and facts on sharks, most

that I didn't know...

Shark Info

[siteseer]

what if the tooth got infected, could it do something like this to the tooth?

Yes, it's more likely that the growth represents a response to some kind of injury that became infected. There might be a fragment of a stingray barb or fin spine within the mass (something that was driven into the root as the shark bit down hard). I've seen weird growths like that on shark tooth roots before (fossil and modern) and that's how I've heard them interpreted. No tooth is in the jaw for too long - probably not long enough to develop a cancer. Modern hammerheads are seen in the wild with stingray barb stuck in their jaws. If a barb goes into a tooth and dislodges it, disrupting the natural replacement process within the file, it can affect the shape of the teeth in that file and the adjacent files for the rest of the animal's life.

I'd have to look through my stuff for more on deformed teeth but remember Hubbell (1996:14-17). There was an article that was published just a couple of years ago.

Hubbell, G. 1996.

Using Tooth Structure to Determine the Evolutionary History of the White Shark. In A.P. Klimley and D.G. Ainley, 1996. Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias. Academic Press.

[CreekCrawler]

Nice little find there Roz.