Scientists Strip Sharks Bare With AI, Revealing Deep Evolutionary Clues
Sharks have been slicing through the oceans for over 400 million years, wrapped in one of nature’s toughest and most efficient designs: a coat of microscopic tooth-like scales called denticles. But now, thanks to a new digital tool powered by geometric artificial intelligence, scientists are peeling back that armor, virtually, to examine what’s been hiding underneath.
Researchers at Seoul National University have developed a method to digitally remove the denticle layer from 3D scans of shark skulls. This gives scientists unprecedented access to the underlying bone structures, enabling high-resolution craniofacial morphometric analysis, a fancy term for studying the shape and form of skulls in extreme detail.
Why does this matter? Beneath those bony blueprints lie clues to how sharks evolved, how they differ between regions and sexes, and how their bodies develop from pup to apex predator. With this AI-driven tool, scientists can now map these variations with extreme precision, revealing patterns that might otherwise be blurred or distorted by their spiky skin.
“It’s like removing a suit of armor to study the body beneath,” one researcher noted. And just like armor, denticles can obscure the finer anatomical points. By stripping them away digitally, the team preserved the specimen while gaining cleaner insights into evolutionary adaptations across species.
The approach has wide implications. For instance, geographical differences in skull shape can point to how shark populations have adapted to local prey or ocean currents. Sexual dimorphism, physical differences between male and female sharks, might reveal how mating behaviors have evolved. And by comparing juvenile and adult specimens, scientists can track developmental shifts in skull geometry that could help explain the evolutionary pressures sharks have faced.
Beyond sharks, this method could pave the way for similar digital dissections in other armored animals, from crocodiles to pangolins, without damaging delicate specimens.
In an age where AI is often seen as cold and abstract, this study is a reminder that its most powerful use might be illuminating life’s ancient, intricate designs.