Films such as Jaws and Open Water have projected sharks as super predators eager to take a bite out of human flesh, but there is more to these fish, Sharks are magnificent creatures which are not only endangered, but also vastly misunderstood.
Great white sharks grow about 10 inches per year. Great whites can grow to mature lengths of 12 to 14 feet.
The Porbeagle is among the fastest sharks. It can jump fully out of the water, a behavior observed in only a few sharks.
New teeth are constantly being formed in rows in a shark's jaw. Shark's teeth are normally replaced every eight days.
Some species of sharks can shed as many as 30,000 teeth in their lifetime.
In 1956, one single Whale shark egg was found off the Mexican coast. This led scientists to believe that the Whale shark was an oviparous species, but now we know that this erroneous Whale shark fact was based on false assumptions. (Oviparous fish species lay undeveloped eggs that are fertilized and developed outside the body of the female fish.)
Whale sharks have approximately 300 rows of teeth, with hundreds of tiny teeth in each row.
It has also been estimated that of all documented great white shark attacks on humans, more than half have occurred within the Red Triangle (Red Triangle is roughly triangle-shaped region off the coast of northern California, extending from Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco
Dried shark skin (shagreen) was used in the past as sandpaper. In Germany and Japan, shark skin was used on sword handles for a non-slip grip.
In 1937, shark liver oil was discovered to be rich in vitamin A. Sharks were hunted for the vitamin until 1950, when a synthesizing method was developed for vitamin A.
SHARK ATTACK VIDEO
Tiger sharks have developed a specialized form of gill slit known as a spiracle. The spiracles are situated right behind the eyes of the Tiger shark and this arrangement ensures a constant flow of oxygen directly to the brain and the eyes of the shark.
The average life span of a shark is 25 years, but some sharks can live to be 100.
The dogfish sharks are named for their tendency to attack their prey as a pack of wild dogs would.
The porbeagle is mainly a pelagic shark, but can be found in coastal waters.
Great white sharks can go as long as three months without eating.
The Tiger sharks are equipped with special electro receptors that can detect even slight electrical currents in the water
The most distinguishing characteristic of the Porbeagle is a white patch on the trailing edge of the dorsal fin.
Not all sharks have to be in continuous motion to breathe.
Newly born Tiger sharks are roughly 50-75 centimetres long (20-30 inches)
Bull sharks can tolerate a wide range of salinity and are often found in freshwater rivers and lakes in Africa and South America.
More people are killed each year by dogs, pigs and deer than by shark attacks.
The pygmy shark has a maximum length of 11 inches.
Sharks have no bones. A shark's skeleton is made up of cartilage.
There are more than 340 known species of sharks.
They have about 3000 teeth, arranged in several rows. The first two rows of teeth are used for grabbing and cutting prey, while the teeth in the last rows rotate into place when front teeth are broken, worn down, or fall out. The teeth are triangularly shaped with serrations on the edges
Sharks first appeared in the fossil record over 400 million years ago.
A significant physical trait that separates a modern shark from an ancient shark is the protrusile jaw, which gives the modern shark more biting force.
Sharks can generate about six and a half tons per square inch of biting force.
A shark's skin is embedded with dermal denticles, which resemble teeth.
The shortfin mako shark is probably the fastest fish in the ocean, clocked at about 60 mph.
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