DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1544
title: Data from: Performance of shark teeth during puncture and draw: implications for the mechanics of cutting

description: The performance of an organism's feeding apparatus has obvious
 implications for its fitness and survival. However, the majority of
 studies that focus on chondrichthyan feeding have largely ignored the role
 of teeth. Studying the functional morphology of shark teeth not only
 elucidates the biological role that teeth play in feeding, but also
 provides insight specifically into the evolution of shark feeding because
 teeth are often the only structures available in the fossil record. In the
 present study, we investigate the puncture and draw performance of three
 general categories of extant teeth, tearing-type, cutting-type, and
 cutting–clutching type, as well as three fossil morphologies, utilizing a
 universal testing system. Differences in puncturing performance occurred
 among different prey items, indicating that not all ‘soft’ prey items are
 alike. The majority of teeth were able to puncture different prey items,
 and differences in puncture performance also occurred among tooth types;
 however, few patterns emerged. In some cases, broader triangular teeth
 were less effective at puncturing than narrow-cusped teeth. There were no
 differences between the maximum draw forces and maximum puncture forces.
 Many of the shark teeth in the present study were not only able to perform
 draw and puncture equally well, but also many tooth morphologies were
 functionally equivalent to each other. The findings obtained in the
 present study lend little support to the belief that shark tooth
 morphology is a good predictor of biological role.
description: WhitenackMottaCrabPunct.pdfPDFs contain force-displacement traces for all successful performance testing trials. Methods can be found in the original publication (Whitenack & Motta 2010. “Performance of shark teeth during puncture and draw: implications for the mechanics of cutting.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society). “WhitenackMottaCrabPunct.pdf” – contains all graphs for puncture tests on blue crab Callinectes sapidus. Each color represents a different individual shark tooth.WhitenackMottaDraw.pdfPDFs contain force-displacement traces for all successful performance testing trials. Methods can be found in the original publication (Whitenack & Motta 2010. “Performance of shark teeth during puncture and draw: implications for the mechanics of cutting.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society). “WhitenackMottaDraw.pdf” – contains all graphs for unidirectional draw tests on white grunt Haemulon plumieri. Each color represents a different individual shark tooth.WhitenackMottaLadyPunct.pdfPDFs contain force-displacement traces for all successful performance testing trials. Methods can be found in the original publication (Whitenack & Motta 2010. “Performance of shark teeth during puncture and draw: implications for the mechanics of cutting.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society). “WhitenackMottaLadyPunct.pdf” – contains all graphs for puncture tests on ladyfish Elops saurus. Each tooth is represented by a color group (blues, reds, or greens), while individual colors within each color group represents a separate trial.WhitenackMottalBonnetPunct.pdfPDFs contain force-displacement traces for all successful performance testing trials. Methods can be found in the original publication (Whitenack & Motta 2010. “Performance of shark teeth during puncture and draw: implications for the mechanics of cutting.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society). “WhitenackMottaBonnetPunct.pdf” – contains all graphs for puncture tests on the bonnethead shark Sphyrna tiburo. Each tooth is represented by a color group (blues, reds, or greens), while individual colors within each color group represents a separate trial.WhitenackMottaSheepPunct.pdfPDFs contain force-displacement traces for all successful performance testing trials. Methods can be found in the original publication (Whitenack & Motta 2010. “Performance of shark teeth during puncture and draw: implications for the mechanics of cutting.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society). “WhitenackMottaSheepPunct.pdf” – contains all graphs for puncture tests on sheepshead Archosargus probatocephalus. Each tooth is represented by a color group (blues, reds, or greens), while individual colors within each color group represents a separate trial.WhitenackMottaWhiteGruntPunct.pdfPDFs contain force-displacement traces for all successful performance testing trials. Methods can be found in the original publication (Whitenack & Motta 2010. “Performance of shark teeth during puncture and draw: implications for the mechanics of cutting.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society). “WhitenackMottaWhiteGruntPunct.pdf” – contains all graphs for puncture tests on white grunt Haemulon plumieri. Each tooth is represented by a color group (blues, reds, or greens), while individual colors within each color group represents a separate trial.