Sharks can detect a wide variety of tastes in the ocean and that is how they find potential meals. This is because these predators have many taste buds (dark blue) and small teeth (green) that line the oral cavity as in the case of mako sharks (Isurus oxyrhinchus), as recorded on a scanning electron microscope. The project, coordinated by veterinarian Rose Eli Rici of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny of the University of São Paulo (USP), focuses on describing these structures in different species of sharks in an attempt to find a relationship between each one’s diet and ecology.
Image sent by Bianca Rangel, master’s student at the USP Biosciences Institute
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