Cusps?

[Triceratops]

What exactly are shark cusps for? Why do some species of shark teeth have them and not others?

I was just wondering, thanks

[Auspex]

Piercing and holding, me thinks. Some of the larger, broader cusps may also provide more cutting area. Teeth are food processors, and have different adaptations for different prey-bases.

[siteseer]

Right. The lower, broader cusplets provided more cutting area for sharks like Cretalamna. The narrower, more pointed cusplets are accessory prongs for clutching slippery prey like squid and small bony fish. Over time, in some shark genera with the tearing or cutting-type dentition you see the main cusp become larger as the cusplets get smaller, even disappearing (Cretoxyrhina, Carcharocles). At some point in the size increase the main cusp becomes efficient enough on its own. With increased efficiency in each tooth a dentition can process the same amount of food with the teeth taking up a little less space, sometimes even eliminating a jaw position. If a shark dentition can do the same work with one less tooth per quadrant, the energy that once went to those teeth can go to some other body function.

Piercing and holding, me thinks. Some of the larger, broader cusps may also provide more cutting area. Teeth are food processors, and have different adaptations for different prey-bases.

[Triceratops]

Thank you both