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SASK:: Building the skeleton of your shark skull
Identify the skeletal cartilages that make up the cranium and jaws of the spiny dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias) and figure out how they fit together by building a 3D model of the skull.
Activity worksheet (PDF)
Introduction
If you've ever watched a nature documentary featuring sharks, you've seen the quintessential shot of a shark breaching the surface of the water, jaws gaping wide with row after threatening row of razor edged teeth to engulf some prey. A white shark (Carchar...
Getting started
Materials needed
For this activity, you'll need: The worksheet for this activity (SA01). The following pieces from your kit: The stand base from your kit. This could either be the box itself (for kits with the stand base integrated into the box) or a standalone 3D p...
Preparing the stand
Before you start building, you'll need to prepare the stand that will hold your shark to free up your hands for building. In your kit, find the stand rod; it's the wooden square dowel rod with a 3D printed "shelf" in the middle. Insert the rod into the stan...
Orientation of the braincase and brain
One odd thing you may have noticed about sharks is that their skeletal elements are referred to as cartilages rather than bones. This is because over the course of their evolution, sharks have lost nearly all of their bony tissue and, in its place, they've evo...
What is the anatomical orientation of the chondrocranium and brain?
Mounting your brain and braincase
To mount your brain and braincase to the stand, you’ll use the round dowel. Find this part in your kit (see the image below). NOT YET COMPLETE - MORE CONTENT TO ADD
What are the shark splanchnocranium cartilages and how do they articulate?
Adding the hyomandibular cartilages
Adding the upper jaws
Adding the lower jaws
Adding the hyoid arch
Adding the branchial arches
How are sharks able to protrude their jaws?
References cited
Educator guide
This section of the activity guide is intended for educators and includes pedagogical schemas and answer key (for select questions).
How to use and edit this activity
Pedagogical schemas
What is the anatomical orientation of the chondrocranium and brain? Learning objective Identify (Bloom’s Level 1 - Remember) the chondrocranium and brain and interpret (Bloom’s Level 2 - Understand) their orientation and position relative to one an...