Skeleton

February 5, 2025

Sharks’ skeletons are composed of cartilage, this is a flexible structure that grows with the shark and is lighter than bone. It is composed of specialised cells called chondrocytes that produce an extracellular matrix of collagen fibres, proteoglycan and elastin fibres. Bone is essentially cartilage that has been hardened by mineral calcification. Calcification does occur in parts of the shark including its vertebrae, teeth, parts of the jaw, fin rods and denticles.