Shark Spiral Intestines Project ID: 0000C1208 Public

13 Media · 13 Specimens · Creator: Leigh, Samantha; Summers, Adam; Hoffman, Sarah; German, Donovan · Managed by: Samantha Leigh

Looking to nature for inspiration has lead to many diverse technological advances. The spiral valve intestine of sharks has provided the opportunity to observe the efficiency of different valve systems. It is supposed that the spiral intestine present in sharks, skates, and rays slows the transit rate of digesta through the gut and provides increased surface area for the absorption of nutrients. In this investigation, we use a novel technique - creating 3D reconstructions from CT scans of spiral intestines - to describe the morphology of the spiral intestine of at least one species from twenty two different shark families. We discuss the morphological data in an evolutionary, dietary, and morphological context. We quantified the flow rate of material of various viscosities through the spiral intestine, demonstrating that it does slow the rate of digesta transit. Furthermore, as apex predators, many sharks play a role in the biodiversity of lower trophic levels that humans depend for dietary and economic resources. However, very little is known about the nutritional physiology of sharks and how it contributes to their overall physiology and ecology. These data are available to generate additional 3D morphometrics, create computational models of the intestine, as well as to further explore the function of the gastrointestinal tract of sharks in structural and physiological contexts.