The Frilled Shark’s Bite Is Designed to Prevent Any Escape

Once this shark bites, retreat becomes mechanically impossible.

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Fossilized frilled shark teeth are often discovered because their shape is so distinctive.

Each of the frilled shark’s approximately 300 teeth curves inward like barbs on a hook. The triple-pointed structure grips soft-bodied prey such as squid so effectively that backward motion only drives victims deeper into the jaw.

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In an ecosystem where prey encounters are rare, losing a meal could mean weeks without food. Its dental architecture minimizes that risk by turning every successful strike into a near-certain capture.

The design mirrors engineered retention systems used in industrial hooks and traps, yet it evolved naturally millions of years before human metallurgy. The resemblance suggests convergent solutions to the same mechanical problem: how to make escape statistically negligible.

Source

Florida Museum of Natural History

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