Evolution and extinction risks of sharks, rays, and skates
Evolution and extinction risks of sharks, rays, and skates
Disciplines
Biology (45%); Geosciences (55%)
Keywords
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Elasmobranchii,
Deep-Time,
Phylogeny,
Character Evolution,
Body Size Evolution
Sharks, skates, and rays (Elasmobranchii) form together with chimaeras (Holocephali) the last extant members of cartilaginous fish (class Chondrichthyes), an ancient group of jawed vertebrates that has been around for more than 400 million years and survived all five mass extinctions. During their evolution, they developed a diverse set of morphological and biological traits allowing them to cope with changes in their environment and to become important predators in a variety of different ecological occuppying top positions in food-webs. Today, the biodiversity on our planet is experiencing an anthropogenically driven extinction event, with extinction levels very similar to past mass extinctions. Despite being well-adapted predators, this new mass extinction event doesnt spare sharks, rays, and skates, with an estimated one third of all species already being threatened according to the IUCN Red List. Extinction of only a few species of this evolutionary distinctive clade can cause significant pruning of the tree of life with subsequent loss of millions of years of evolutionary history. Although being a versatile group, the mechanisms how elasmobranchs have coped with past mass extinctions, the drivers for the evolution of morphological traits and the correlated body plans, the tempo and timing of morphological trait evolution, whether appearance changes occurred regularly over time or were increased during times of extinction events, and how biological traits like body size have developed during their evolution, are not fully understood yet. To answer these questions, multidisciplinary approaches are necessary, in which various phylogenetic methods, molecular clock and other approaches for dating origins and evolutionary events as well as morphological data comprising skeletal and dental traits are combined with morphospace methods to estimate the relationships of taxa, duration of individual evolutionary lineages, lineage specific rates, divergence rates, evolutionary diversifications, fossilization and life history traits within a single coherent phylogenetic time tree. This time tree will be crucial for our understanding of the evolutionary history of elasmobranchs and the evolution of biological traits, which have helped elasmobranch fishes to become top predators of todays seas. Furthermore, the newfound understanding of the role of different biological traits on the survival and longevity of elasmobranchs in deep time can serve as basis, on which extinction risks and conservation priorities of distinct elasmobranch groups can be formulated within a strict evolutionary framework towards maintaining their morphological diversity and evolutionary history, and therefore ensuring the continued existence of this group in the future. Univ.-Prof Dr. J. Kriwet, J. Türtscher, MSc and P.L. Jambura, MSc of the University of Vienna with support of Dr. G. Naylor (Univ. Florida, Gainesville, U.S.A.) und Dr. G. Marram (Univ. Turin, Italien) will conduct this project.
- Universität Wien - 100%
Research Output
- 108 Citations
- 30 Publications
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2024
Title Rostral and body shape analyses reveal cryptic diversity of Late Jurassic batomorphs (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from Europe DOI 10.1002/spp2.1552 Type Journal Article Author Türtscher J Journal Papers in Palaeontology Link Publication -
2024
Title Exceptionally preserved shark fossils from Mexico elucidate the long-standing enigma of the Cretaceous elasmobranch Ptychodus DOI 10.1098/rspb.2024.0262 Type Journal Article Author Vullo R Journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Pages 20240262 -
2024
Title Fossil marine vertebrates (Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii, Reptilia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Akkermanovka (Orenburg Oblast, Southern Urals, Russia) DOI 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105779 Type Journal Article Author Jambura P Journal Cretaceous Research Pages 105779 Link Publication -
2024
Title Evolution of the Batoidea Pectoral Fin Skeleton: Convergence, Modularity, and Integration Driving Disparity Trends DOI 10.1101/2024.06.26.600866 Type Preprint Author López-Romero F Pages 2024.06.26.600866 -
2024
Title An early Eocene fish assemblage associated with a barite deposit in the lower part of the Crescent Formation, Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, USA DOI 10.1007/s12542-024-00692-y Type Journal Article Author Goedert J Journal PalZ Pages 1-25 Link Publication -
2024
Title Reply to Soldo, A.; Lipej, L. Comment on “Balàka et al. Updated Checklist of Chondrichthyan Species in Croatia (Central Mediterranean Sea). Biology 2023, 12, 952” DOI 10.3390/biology13030136 Type Journal Article Author Balàka P Journal Biology Pages 136 Link Publication -
2023
Title Morphological Variability and Function of Labial Cartilages in Sharks (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) DOI 10.3390/biology12121486 Type Journal Article Author Klimpfinger C Journal Biology Pages 1486 Link Publication -
2023
Title Shark mandible evolution reveals patterns of trophic and habitat-mediated diversification DOI 10.1038/s42003-023-04882-3 Type Journal Article Author López-Romero F Journal Communications Biology Pages 496 Link Publication -
2023
Title A diverse assemblage of Ptychodus species (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Ukraine, with comments on possible diversification drivers during the Cenomanian DOI 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105659 Type Journal Article Author Amadori M Journal Cretaceous Research Pages 105659 Link Publication -
2023
Title Updated Checklist of Chondrichthyan Species in Croatia (Central Mediterranean Sea) DOI 10.3390/biology12070952 Type Journal Article Author Balàka P Journal Biology Pages 952 Link Publication -
2023
Title The evolutionary origin of the durophagous pelagic stingray ecomorph DOI 10.1111/pala.12669 Type Journal Article Author Marramà G Journal Palaeontology Link Publication -
2021
Title Skeletal remains of the oldest known pseudocoracid shark Pseudocorax kindlimanni sp. nov. (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon DOI 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104842 Type Journal Article Author Jambura P Journal Cretaceous Research Pages 104842 Link Publication -
2021
Title Using historical and citizen science data to improve knowledge about the occurrence of the elusive sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus (Chondrichthyes - Carcharhinidae) in the Adriatic Sea. DOI 10.12681/mms.24624 Type Journal Article Author Jambura P Journal Mediterranean marine science Pages 169-179 Link Publication -
2021
Title Evolution, diversity, and disparity of the tiger shark lineage Galeocerdo in deep time DOI 10.1017/pab.2021.6 Type Journal Article Author Trtscher J Journal Paleobiology Pages 574-590 Link Publication -
2023
Title A Synoptic Review of the Cartilaginous Fishes (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali, Elasmobranchii) from the Upper Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätten of Southern Germany: Taxonomy, Diversity, and Faunal Relationships DOI 10.3390/d15030386 Type Journal Article Author Villalobos-Segura E Journal Diversity Pages 386 Link Publication -
2022
Title Supplementary figures and table from Decoding the dynamics of dental distributions: insights from shark demography and dispersal DOI 10.6084/m9.figshare.20110370 Type Other Author Kim S -
2022
Title The First Southern Hemisphere Occurrence of the Extinct Cretaceous Sclerorhynchoid Sawfish Ptychotrygon (Chondrichthyes, Batoidea), with a Review of Ptychotrygon Taxonomy DOI 10.1080/02724634.2022.2162411 Type Journal Article Author Begat A Journal Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Link Publication -
2021
Title A new cuspidate ptychodontid shark (Chondrichthyes; Elasmobranchii), from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco with comments on tooth functionalities and replacement patterns DOI 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2021.104440 Type Journal Article Author Amadori M Journal Journal of African Earth Sciences Pages 104440 Link Publication -
2022
Title Decoding the dynamics of dental distributions: insights from shark demography and dispersal DOI 10.1098/rspb.2022.0808 Type Journal Article Author Kim S Journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Pages 20220808 Link Publication -
2022
Title The Extinct Shark, Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii, Ptychodontidae) in the Upper Cretaceous of Central-Western RussiaThe Road to Easternmost Peri-Tethyan Seas DOI 10.1080/02724634.2022.2162909 Type Journal Article Author Amadori M Journal Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Link Publication -
2021
Title Using Citizen Science to Detect Rare and Endangered Species: New Records of the Great White Shark Carcharodon Carcharias off the Libyan Coast. DOI 10.19233/ashn.2021.08 Type Journal Article Author Jambura P Journal Annales. Series historia naturalis : anali za istrske in mediteranske studije = annali di studi istr Pages 51-57 Link Publication -
2020
Title Deadly interaction between a swordfish Xiphias gladius and a bigeye thresher shark Alopias superciliosus DOI 10.1007/s10228-020-00787-x Type Journal Article Author Jambura P Journal Ichthyological Research Pages 317-321 Link Publication -
2023
Title Diversification trajectories and paleobiogeography of Neogene chondrichthyans from Europe DOI 10.5167/uzh-231219 Type Other Author Rivadeneira -
2023
Title Diversification trajectories and paleobiogeography of Neogene chondrichthyans from Europe DOI 10.1017/pab.2022.40 Type Journal Article Author Villafaa J Journal Paleobiology Pages 329-341 Link Publication -
2023
Title Systematics and Phylogenetic Interrelationships of the Enigmatic Late Jurassic Shark Protospinax annectans Woodward, 1918 with Comments on the Shark–Ray Sister Group Relationship DOI 10.3390/d15030311 Type Journal Article Author Jambura P Journal Diversity Pages 311 Link Publication -
2022
Title Heterodonty and ontogenetic shift dynamics in the dentition of the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier (Chondrichthyes, Galeocerdidae) DOI 10.1111/joa.13668 Type Journal Article Author Türtscher J Journal Journal of Anatomy Pages 372-392 Link Publication -
2022
Title Early shape divergence of developmental trajectories in the jaw of galeomorph sharks DOI 10.1186/s12983-022-00452-1 Type Journal Article Author López-Romero F Journal Frontiers in Zoology Pages 7 Link Publication -
2022
Title Observations of juvenile sandbar sharks Carcharhinus plumbeus () around the Bojana River delta (Southern Adriatic Sea). DOI 10.12681/mms.30166 Type Journal Article Author Cetkovic I Journal Mediterranean marine science Pages 748-753 Link Publication -
2022
Title The Phylogeny of Rays and Skates (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) Based on Morphological Characters Revisited DOI 10.3390/d14060456 Type Journal Article Author Villalobos-Segura E Journal Diversity Pages 456 Link Publication -
2022
Title Cranial morphology of the orectolobiform shark, Chiloscyllium punctatum Müller & Henle, 1838 DOI 10.3897/vz.72.e84732 Type Journal Article Author Staggl M Journal Vertebrate zoology Pages 311-370 Link Publication