“Sharkitecture” Displays Intelligent Design in Shark Bones
Supported by strong minerals
and springs, the shark skeleton is
optimized for these ocean predators
by Jerry Bergman, PhD
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University analyzed the swimming movements of sharks. What they found challenges Darwinian explanations for origins.
Dawn Somu and a team of 6 from FAU’s ’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the College of Engineering and Computer Science did the work. Part of their research involved using small-scale mechanical testing to study the kinematics of shark swimming. They also used synchrotron X-ray nanotomography and image segmentation analysis to examine the ultrastructure and deformation mechanisms of mineralized shark vertebrae. They found that the vertebral column of sharks not only stabilizes internal organs, but also acts as a biological spring—storing and releasing energy during locomotion.[1] This design helps these ocean predators endure the extreme physical demands of constant motion as they swim.
The shark streamlined design allowing it to slide through the water with ease. From Wikimedia Commons.
Sharks Are Cartilaginous Fish but No Less Well Designed
Shark skeletons are made of cartilage rather than bone, yet they function much like a bony skeleton. The Somu et al. analysis revealed two distinct regions within the shark’s mineralized cartilage: the corpus calcareum and the intermediale. Both were composed of densely packed collagen and bioapatite. The specific function of these two areas is still being researched.
Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the researchers examined the preferentially oriented, needle-like bioapatite crystallites and d-band patterns of collagen type-II fibrils resulting from intrafibrillar mineralization. The research team referred to this skeleton design as a sharkitecture.
The bioapatite crystals, also found in human bones, were aligned with strands of collagen.[2] This intricate structure gives the cartilage considerable strength while allowing flexibility.
The mineralized plates were arranged in porous structures, reinforced by thick struts that help the skeleton withstand strain from multiple directions. Their mineral-reinforced spines work like springs, flexing and storing energy as they swim. This is a critically important feature for sharks because their constant swimming places continual stress on the spine.
A shark ‘skeleton’ or ‘sharkitecture.’ From Wikimedia Commons.
Research Goals and Evolutionary Claims
A key objective of the research, carried out within an engineering college for this purpose, was to translate the findings into knowledge that can guide chemists in developing next-generation engineering materials.[3]
As is typical, the researchers claimed the structure they analyzed was not due to design, but evolved by natural selection after “hundreds of millions of years of evolution.”[4] This explanation is problematic, however, because the earliest known shark, Cladoselache—believed by evolutionists to have lived approximately 380–370 million years ago during the Devonian period—already exhibited a streamlined torpedo-shaped body, forked tail, and dorsal fins very similar to those of modern sharks, including the species analyzed in this study. Current fossil evidence and structural analysis suggest that this so-called “primitive” shark employed the same fundamental “sharkitecture” design as its modern counterparts.
Anatomists Admit the Superior Design of the Animal Skeletal System
Though researchers marveled at the ingenious structure of the shark skeleton, they ascribed its development to evolutionary mechanisms. Nonetheless, they anticipated that their research would yield insights applicable to human chemical engineering innovations.
Other anatomists adopt a more reasonable explanation. One article from Life Magazine in 1952 acknowledged that animal skeletal systems “are marvels of engineering,” concluding that…
Modern man, with his technical knowledge, has filled his world with engineered marvels. Yet the most marvelously engineered objects ever created are more ancient than man himself. These are the bones and skeletons of living things. From tiny hummingbirds to the great whales, the bone structures of animals employ the same engineering principles as suspension bridges, cantilevered buildings, and vaulted auditoriums, and are executed with a subtlety no human engineer would dare specify. The skeleton of the viper [snake] … is exactly engineered for sinuous motion. The thighbone of a man, tough as wrought iron and about 15 times as light, is perfectly sculptured to follow the stress patterns to which it is subjected.[5]
The Somu et al. study reviewed in this paper reinforces the conclusion in the quote above and offers another striking example of the remarkable design of the skeletal system. The design of the skeletal system is just one part of the total design of the shark body which functions as a highly integrated unit.
References
[1] Somu, Dawn, et al., “A Nanoscale View of the Structure and Deformation Mechanism of Mineralized Shark Vertebral Cartilage,” American Chemical Society Nano 19(14):14410–14421 14 April 2025.
[2] Galoustian, Gisele, “‘SHARKITECTURE:’ A NANOSCALE LOOK INSIDE A BLACKTIP SHARK’S SKELETON,” https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/blacktip-shark-skeleton-nanoscale.php, 20 May 2025.
[3] Galoustian, 2025.
[4] Galoustian, 2025.
[5] Feininger, Andreas, “Bones: They Are Marvels of Engineering and Natural Esthetic Design,” Life Magazine, pp. 126-133, 6 October 1952.
Dr. Jerry Bergman has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology for over 40 years at several colleges and universities including Bowling Green State University, Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in experimental pathology, and The University of Toledo. He is a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,900 publications in 14 languages and 40 books and monographs. His books and textbooks that include chapters that he authored are in over 1,800 college libraries in 27 countries. So far over 80,000 copies of the 60 books and monographs that he has authored or co-authored are in print. For more articles by Dr Bergman, see his Author Profile.