Chapter Four: Teeth Everywhere

...Once again, I learned something new in this chapter. I knew that sharks have a lot of teeth, but only a limited supply. But I had absolutely no idea that reptiles have an unlimited arsenal of teeth.

I guess we can say that, from this chapter, the epiphanies in the desert relates to Mr. Shubin's growth in the field of paleontology. His dedication and hard work, though he could not spot even one fragment of bone, led to the serendipity of finding a dinosaur tooth. Right then, his whole perspective changed, and he was able to clearly notice the vast amount of bones in the desert that he previously could not spot. Such was his growth in paleontology: he notices the little things that he previously could not notice. When Mr. Shubin said, "it was in searching for them that I first learned how to find fossils and how to run a fossil expedition," he really was not kidding (Shubin 60). His understanding flourished on that one day. Seriously, I think it would be pretty amazing to have that kind of experience.

Mr. Shubin also gives us more, supportive examples of serendipity needed by paleontologists. Thinking that the volcanic rocks were, just that, volcanic, Shubin nodded it off. However, through luck and occasional haps, the scientists discovered bone fragments found in sandstone slits in the volcanic rocks. Oh, professor....

Reading on, I begin to wonder: "How are conodonts the teeth of ancient jawless fish?" Do they chew the food for the fish? When the conodonts die, do they leave their teeth in the fishes' jaws for the fish to use? Can someone please explain this part to me?

Full of impatience, I was asking too many questions out of pure ridiculousness because I was still skeptical of what Mr. Shubin had to say. I then realized that he was getting to that. I had no idea that "teeth develop by an interaction of two layers of tissue in our developing skin" (Shubin 78). Then comes the enamel and the dentine, etc. Interesting.

However, doesn't that mean the tissues create the mold, not the teeth? Does the body provide nutrients and hydroxyapatite for the teeth? Explanations, please!