In this chapter Shubin talks about teeth. He says that teeth of a fossil are really important to a paleontologist. Shubin describes some of his early days as a fossil hunter. I felt interesting how Shubin said that you look for something that is not a rock! I always had this question about how paleontologists find fossils? How do they know where to dig up? I just felt that was interesting.
Shubin describes a group of primitive mammal-like animals called trithelodonts. Trithelodonts mean “three-knob teeth”. This was some of the earliest specialization in the shape of teeth. From my own research on why teeth are important and from what the book told me: Teeth are the original source of all hard parts of vertebrate animals. Everything from specialized teeth, bones, and armor on some species all came from teeth. Teeth are the common ancestor of everything that comes from the skin. We couldn't have hair or even mammary glands without the development of teeth 500 million years ago.
Shubin describes a group of primitive mammal-like animals called trithelodonts. Trithelodonts mean “three-knob teeth”. This was some of the earliest specialization in the shape of teeth. From my own research on why teeth are important and from what the book told me: Teeth are the original source of all hard parts of vertebrate animals. Everything from specialized teeth, bones, and armor on some species all came from teeth. Teeth are the common ancestor of everything that comes from the skin. We couldn't have hair or even mammary glands without the development of teeth 500 million years ago.
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