• Question: Do you know if this fact is true: People have evolved from sharks.

    Asked by jetfire to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 16 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by cheesecakegirl.
    • Photo: Joanna Giles

      Joanna Giles answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      It is true! That’s a really good question! Really cutting edge – did you read it in the news?
      In June 2012 it was published that there was a common ancestor to the modern day shark and the human from 300 million years ago!

      We are thought to share 80% of our DNA with sharks.For example, the proteins that I work on in my lab are called “Complement” proteins, and sharks also have these proteins. It’s the very first immune response to invasion of pathogens and so that’s one thing we have in common for sure!

    • Photo: Louise Stanley

      Louise Stanley answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      It is sort of true! The “shark” that we evolved from is actually an extict type of animal called a spiny shark and not at all like the sharks we have today. The spiny shark is the last common ancestor between bony fish like Cod and Sardines and cartilaginous fish like sharks, dogfish and rays. As humans (and all other mammals as well as reptiles and lizards) evolved from a certain type of bony fish it is fair to say that we evolved from spiny sharks but sadly we don’t have any Great White genes in us!

    • Photo: Adam Paige

      Adam Paige answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      I didn’t know about that recent report. Very interesting. Thanks for raising this point.

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