- Sharks can sense blood in the water as
little as one part per million from a mile away.
- Sharks have color vision. Their eyes respond
to light ten times dimmer than humans.
- Sharks have been attracted to vibrations,
like those made by erratic swimming fish, for distances over
a mile.
- Scientists date ancestors of the shark
back 420 million years, or roughly twice as long as dinosaurs.
Most modern shark families had developed by about 100 million
years ago.
- Sharks sink if they don't swim.
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- Most sharks have 5 to 15 rows of teeth
in each jaw. The teeth don't have roots and are easily broken
off. A tooth usually lasts a week before it falls out.
- Sharks keep replacing their teeth all
their lives. A larger tooth replaces a smaller one that falls
out. A shark may lose thousands of teeth in its lifetime. This
explains the abundance of fossil shark teeth.
- The Great White Shark appears to be a
finicky eater with little taste for humans. In 78 attacks recorded
along the California coast since 1926, there have been just 8
deaths. Most surfers they just spit out.
- There are almost six billion people on
our planet, and less than 10 are killed by sharks each year.
More sharks are killed by people: over 12 million each year.
- Most sharks give live birth. The longest
gestation period for any animal is that of the spiny dogfish,
22-24 months.
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- In the United States, the annual risk
of death by lightning is 30 times greater than that of shark
attack. Bites or stings from bees, wasps and snakes cause more
deaths per year by far than shark attacks.
- Of more than 350 shark species, less than
10 are considered dangerous to humans.
- The largest shark (and the largest fish)
is the whale shark, over 45 feet long. The largest ocean dweller,
the Blue Whale at lengths of about 90 feet, is a mammal.
- The smallest shark is the spined pygmy
shark, less than 10 inches long.
- The mako shark can swim at speeds up to
22 mph.
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- The thresher shark has the longest tail.
It grows to 11 feet, half its length in its tail.
- Baby sharks are called "pups."
- Shark meat is high in protein, low in
fat, and has no bones. Shark oil is rich in vitamin A and is
used in medicines, soap, cosmetics, and vitamins.
- A shark is a fish. Unlike other fish,
Its skeleton is made of cartilage (like the end of a human nose),
not bone. This explains the lack of fossilized shark bones in
existence.
- There are more than 350 species of sharks
worldwide, and 400 species of rays.
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- Most sharks are cold-blooded. Their inner
body temperature matches the water temperature. Some sharks (like
the great white) can elevate their body temperature above that
of their environment.
- Sharks don't blink.
- A shark eats about 2 percent of its body
weight per day (slightly less than a human eats). Some sharks
can live for a year without eating.
- Contents found in the stomachs of tiger
sharks include lobsters, stingrays, sea turtles, porpoises, human
limbs, dogs, tin cans, garbage, coal and a full suit of armor.
- Hammerhead sharks are born with their
heads bent backwards so they don't get stuck in the birth canal.
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