{"id":671386,"date":"2025-05-25T21:40:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T18:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/teeth-hurt-it-could-be-because-of-a-500-million-year-old-fish\/"},"modified":"2025-05-25T21:40:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T18:40:21","slug":"teeth-hurt-it-could-be-because-of-a-500-million-year-old-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/teeth-hurt-it-could-be-because-of-a-500-million-year-old-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"Teeth hurt? It could be because of a 500-million-year-old fish"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4156d4a7c33\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4156d4a7c33\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/teeth-hurt-it-could-be-because-of-a-500-million-year-old-fish\/#Things_get_fishy\" >Things get fishy<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/crabs-use-their-sensor.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/crabs-use-their-sensor.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Crabs use their sensory organs, called sensilla, to perceive temperature, vibration and smell.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/crabs-use-their-sensor.jpg\" alt=\"Crabs use their sensory organs, called sensilla, to perceive temperature, vibration and smell\" title=\"Crabs use their sensory organs, called sensilla, to perceive temperature, vibration and smell.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Crabs use their sensory organs, called sensilla, to perceive temperature, vibration and smell.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ever wondered why our teeth are so sensitive to pain or even just cold drinks? It might be because they first evolved for a very different purpose than chewing half a billion years ago, a study suggested Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The exact origin of teeth\u2014and what they were for\u2014has long proved elusive to scientists.<\/p>\n<p>Their evolutionary precursors are thought to be hard structures called odontodes which first <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared not in mouths but on the external armor of the earliest fish around 500 million years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Even today, sharks, stingrays and catfish are covered in microscopic teeth that make their skin rough like sandpaper.<\/p>\n<p>There are several theories for why these odontodes first appeared, including that they protected against predators, helped with movement through the water or stored minerals.<\/p>\n<p>But the new study, published in the journal <i>Nature,<\/i> supports the hypothesis that they were originally used as sensory organs which transmitted sensations to nerves.<\/p>\n<p>At first, the study&#8217;s lead author Yara Haridy was not even trying to hunt down the origins of teeth.<\/p>\n<p>Instead the postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago was probing another major question puzzling the field of paleontology: what is the oldest fossil of an animal with a backbone?<\/p>\n<p>Haridy asked museums across the United States to send her hundreds of vertebrate specimens\u2014some so small they could fit on the tip of a toothpick\u2014so she could analyze them using a CT scanner.<\/p>\n<p>She began focusing on dentin, the inner layer of teeth that sends sensory information to nerves in the pulp.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Things_get_fishy\"><\/span>Things get fishy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A fossil from the Cambrian period called Anatolepis seemed to be the answer she was looking for. Its exoskeleton has pores underneath the odontodes called tubules that could indicate they once contained dentin.<\/p>\n<p>This has previously led paleontologists to believe that Anatolepis was the first known fish in history.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/catfish-have-nerves-in.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/catfish-have-nerves-in.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Catfish have nerves in the teeth on the outside of their bodies.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/catfish-have-nerves-in.jpg\" alt=\"Catfish have nerves in the teeth on the outside of their bodies\" title=\"Catfish have nerves in the teeth on the outside of their bodies.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Catfish have nerves in the teeth on the outside of their bodies.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But when Haridy compared it to the other specimens she had scanned, she found that the tubules looked much more like sensory organs called sensilla of arthropods, a group of animals that includes crustaceans and insects.<\/p>\n<p>The mighty Anatolepis was therefore demoted to the rank of an invertebrate.<\/p>\n<p>For modern arthropods such as crabs, scorpions and spiders, sensilla are used to perceive temperature, vibration and even smell.<\/p>\n<p>How little these features have changed over time suggests they have been serving these same functions for half a billion years.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers said they found &#8220;striking&#8221; similarities between these features in Anatolepis and vertebrate fish from around 465 million years ago\u2014as well as some better-known fish.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We performed experiments on modern fish that confirmed the presence of nerves in the outside teeth of catfish, sharks and skates,&#8221; Haridy told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>This shows that &#8220;tooth tissues of odontodes outside the mouth can be sensitive\u2014and perhaps the very first odontodes were as well,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ads w-100 my-4 article-main__more bg-light p-3 border\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-3\">\n        Discover the latest in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>, tech, and space with over <strong>100,000 subscribers<\/strong> who rely on Phys.org for daily insights.<br \/>\n        Sign up for our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sciencex.com\/help\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\">free newsletter<\/a> and get updates on breakthroughs,<br \/>\n        innovations, and research that matter\u2014<strong>daily or weekly<\/strong>.\n    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Arthropods and early vertebrates independently evolved similar sensory solutions to the same biological and ecological problem.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Senior study author Neil Shubin, also from the University of Chicago, said that these primitive animals evolved in &#8220;a pretty intense predatory environment&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Being able to sense the properties of the water around them would have been very important,&#8221; Shubin said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Haridy explained that over time, fish evolved jaws and &#8220;it became advantageous to have pointy structures&#8221; near their mouth.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Little by little some fish with jaws had pointy odontodes at the edge of the mouth and then eventually some were directly in the mouth,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A toothache is actually an ancient sensory feature that may have helped our fishy ancestors survive!&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYara Haridy, The origin of vertebrate teeth and evolution of sensory exoskeletons, <i>Nature<\/i> (2025). <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-025-08944-w\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-025-08944-w<\/a>. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-08944-w\" target=\"_blank\">www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-08944-w<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \u00a9 2025 AFP\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTeeth hurt? It could be because of a 500-million-year-old fish (2025, May 25)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 25 May 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-05-teeth-million-year-fish.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-05-teeth-million-year-fish.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Crabs use their sensory organs, called sensilla, to perceive temperature, vibration and smell. Ever wondered why our teeth are so sensitive to pain or even just cold drinks? It might be because they first evolved for a very different purpose than chewing half a billion years ago, a study suggested Wednesday. The exact origin of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":671387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/crabs-use-their-sensor.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-671386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}