Maritime functional morphology

Abstract

During the course of evolution, conditions in the wide and deep oceans have led to an amazing diversity of functional morphologies in living organisms. That can be impressively demonstrated with some examples: the hard teeth of sharks, the spines of sea urchins which so efficiently reduce water resistance, the tough teeth of Parrot fish with their dome-shaped caps, highly toxic frightening sea snakes and extremely deep diving whales – all of these animals displaying structures and processes that may trigger technical  applications.