Jaw Morphometrics

Lab technician measuring a shark jaw © Florida Program for Shark Research

FPSR scientists are also contributing to a study on shark jaw morphometrics. In collaboration with scientists at the University of South Florida, we are gathering morphometric data from carcharhinid, sphyrnid, and lamnid jaws. The project goal is to provide a means of accurately discerning the approximate size and species of a shark by statistically analyzing measurements from a bite impression. Data are currently being collected for this project from more than one hundred and fifty specimens of twenty different species, including tiger (G. cuvier), bull (C. leucas), and white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias).