Selachian tooth development: I. Histogenesis, morphogenesis, and anatomical features in Squalus acanthias.

We have determined the general features of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during fetal and mature adult stages of odontogenesis in the selachian spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias. The general features of odontogenesis included the formation of an extended dental lamina, bud, cap, bell, and crown stages as identified and described using serial sections from fetal as well as adult specimens and light microscopy. Fetal and adult lengths, the rostrum-caudal fin distance, were correlated with the number of tooth rows and columns present in each specimen. This positional information and terminology was extremely valuable in attempting to acquire reproducible data for analyses. Whereas a number of histologic features of fetal and adult odontogenesis were comparable to those described in Mammalia, we found a number of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction characteristics unique to elasmobranch tooth development, including the persistence of the dental lamina in the adult stages, the coupling of cervical inner enamel epithelia between sequential stages of tooth formation, and the patterns of odontogenesis in the adult dentition.