Facts About Sharks

[StuartDH]

Do you know any facts about sharks? If so, let's hear them! It would also be good to hear some of the 'almost facts' that everyone thinks are facts about sharks, but are actually just myths that have carried on throughout time.

To start things off. As far as I know:

• Sharks don't blink, but they do have upper and lower eyelids
• Sharks are usually cold-blooded, but some of them can raise the temperature of their to be above that of the surrounding
• The largest shark in the world is the Whale Shark and it's about 15m long

[Captain Crosman]

Note: If this thread generates enough information you should document it and keep it for future preferences.




- Sharks have razor like Skin.

- Shark attacks are usually false, most so called attacks occur when someone slides against the shark razor like body.

- The Great White Shark is the most feirce predator in our waters.

[Tanny]

I would not call the skin Razor like, more sandpaper like, well the sharks I have handled had skin like sandpaper. Not all sharks are dangerous and even the so called dangerous sharks don't attack humans, we are not a natural prey to them, it's when they mistake swimming humans who resemble a seal or a turtle when they mistakenly attack, mind you there's always the exception to the rule, especialy with the White Pointer. My experiance is with the sharks off the North West Australian coast, the Tiger Shark being the most dangerous. These sharks feed on the Marine Turtles that nest here and they drift around the bays waiting for a weak female turtle to enter the water after laying. When my mates go out spearfishing they asked me to join them as I was usefull at driving away the White-tip Reef-sharks that dash in to take the fish that sent out distress signals when speared. "We all do foolish things in our lifetime". The bronze Whaler was another shark that was dangerous in those waters and I actualy caught a large one once on my fishing line off the sea cliffs. When snorkling around the coral reefs I would regularly find the sand sharks sleeping on the sea bed and was able to stroke them and even hold them in my arms. They are a harmless shark but still grow up to about seven feet in length. I'me no expert on sharks but my experiances have taught me that they are a facinating creature and should be protected.

[Spaz]

Here is what I have been learning thanks to Shark Week in the Discovery Channel:

-The Great White is actually warm-blooded

-Sharks DO NOT hunt humans down and try to destroy their boats like in JAWS

-Some sharks learn hunting even before they're born, because they hunt the weaker embryos inside the female shark

-Sharks do not attack unprovoked. There is no evidence that suggests that they hunt humans....that's just something we make up.

-Bull Sharks are the ones that usually will hold on to it's prey, and not let go.

Hope I got some nice facts in.

[ddnieper]

Hi all,
Thanks for that information.
some facts about shark is Fresh Water Sharks are really very very Dangerous Animal in Water, As in Most of the cases Soiled Water Animals dont come near to the Point where people are usually Having Fun, Like Beaches etc, but Fresh Water Sharks can Hit People in the rivers etc.

[Fiona]

Great facts I love sharks could I just ask I remember someone told me ages ago that the Great White is immune to all illnesses is this true? Fi. X X X X

[goosey]

I don’t know if The Great White shark is different than other sharks. I have heard that sharks, rays and skates are practically immune to cancer, infections and blood circulation problems. They don’t have bone marrow which is where immune cells in mammals are produced. They do get sick but disease is less likely in these than other fish, they also have the ability to recover quickly from severe injuries.
We were always told that salt water is good for wounds, mouth ulcers and helps healing in humans. This explains rapid recovery for minor injuries in sharks to a small degree, but sharks being almost impervious to infection is something else.

[ericrovve]

Sharks have no proper hard skeleton, so the only part that survives of fossil sharks are their teeth, which they shed several times in their lifetime.

Some Florida beaches are full of blackened fossil shark's teeth.

[goosey]

Originally Posted by goosey

They don’t have bone marrow

Originally Posted by ericrovve

Sharks have no proper hard skeleton, so the only part that survives of fossil sharks are their teeth, which they shed several times in their lifetime.

I wonder if this means that their bones are hollow then? Is that possible .

[wild worlds]

I am fairly sure that a shark skeleton is cartilage. So it would not be hollow but solid and not quite bone.
What I know for sure is that escaping a shark attack gets the girls! In my younger years a mate of mine busted up his shoulder in an accident. To fix it, the surgery left him with a big crescent shaped scar on the front and back of his shoulder, just like a bite mark. “What happened to your shoulder?” the babes on the beach would say. “Great White…..don’t like to talk about it” was the reply. Worked every time!
“ I swam out and saved him by poking the shark in the eye.” Sadly did not have the same result!
Fact. Shark nets in Durban kill loads of sharks un necessarily. WW

[paul m]

Originally Posted by goosey

I wonder if this means that their bones are hollow then? Is that possible .

Their skeleton is cartilagenous - cartilage (a dense but bendable fibrous tissue) forms the basis of all vertebrate bones but becomes calcified and thus harder and better at bearing loads. Sharks have the advantage that they can't break anything!

[paul m]

Many shark species are threatened by 'sport fishing' (e.g. Humane Society International ) or fishing for food especially the notorious taking of fins for the Chinese market and throwing the rest of the animal back into the sea. There's a lot of info at: Shark Campaigns

[paul m]

It's quite complicated: in mammalian foetuses, immune cells are produced in the liver, only later by the bone marrow. Furthermore, the active cells (which do the hard work of producing antibodies) are in the lymphatic sytem, especially the thymus.

I suspect that shark immunoglobulins are produced in the lymphatic system or the spleen (where red blood cells are produced).
Sharks aren't mentioned in - The Immune System - which is a fairly concise summary of immunogenesis.

Originally Posted by goosey

I don’t know if The Great White shark is different than other sharks. I have heard that sharks, rays and skates are practically immune to cancer, infections and blood circulation problems. They don’t have bone marrow which is where immune cells in mammals are produced. They do get sick but disease is less likely in these than other fish, they also have the ability to recover quickly from severe injuries.
We were always told that salt water is good for wounds, mouth ulcers and helps healing in humans. This explains rapid recovery for minor injuries in sharks to a small degree, but sharks being almost impervious to infection is something else.

[paul m]

Tanny loaded a picture of a tiger shark with attached ramora fish ...

These use the shark (or ray) to get around but also chew deposits off the fish's skin, keeping it clean and clear of parasites ....

[frostfire]

The Sand Tiger Shark (Carcharias taurus) has two wombs. During pregnacy the female caries multiple young. These young eat each other untill there is only one left in each womb. So they are literally fighting for life or death and are living proof that the strongest survives!

[Guy F]

There's a type of shark called the Cookie-cutter Shark which cuts circular chunks of flesh out of other marine creatures e.g Dolphins, leaving them with strange scars on their bodies!
Guy

[goosey]

Courtesy of my 13 year old:-
There is more chance of being killed by a coconut falling on your head than being killed by a shark!

[paul m]

Originally Posted by goosey

Courtesy of my 13 year old:-
There is more chance of being killed by a coconut falling on your head than being killed by a shark!

... depends rather whether you're in the sea or sitting under a palm tree.

[paul m]

Some sharks can reproduce parthenogenetically - without the intervention of a male.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/sc...in&oref=slogin

I know this because todays Metro has a picture of a white-tipped reef shark in an aquarium in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary which has never met a male but has just given birth to a sharkling ....

[paul m]

Looks as if something might be done to protect sharks at last ...
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | High hopes for EU shark proposals

[mtngoat]

The weirdest looking shark in the world is the Goblin Shark. It frequents the sea bottom and is distinguished by the overhanging snout and protrusible jaws. Oh, it also as pinkish skin and bruises very easily. Weird customer, all rounded instead of trim and neat.

http://www.postmodern.com/~fi/sharkpics/ellis/mitsu.jpg
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2007/02/shark_450x250.jpg

I think I'll stick with my reef sharks...

[goosey]

From the bottom image it looks quite inoffensive, but in the top one they look pretty daunting .

I have never heard or seen pictures of these Goblin sharks before. In a way reminds ny of the 16th and 17th century drawings in books of strange animals from far away lands which always had a more a "monster" look than reality. It's hard to imgine it being real at all.
Thanks mtngoat

[paul m]

I'm sure everyone's read about this freak accident:
Blunt trauma killed Michigan woman hit by eagle ray

Just a reminder that sting and other rays are effectively sharks which have adapted a very different shape:
Stingray - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Isn't evolution wonderful!

[mtngoat]

Wow, no, I haven't heard of it. I've always wanted to see one up close... but not for that short a period :P .

Sharks can have from 1 to 100 pups at a time, depending on the type of shark. The ones with pups that grow inside the mother have fewer babies at a time than sharks that lay eggs outside the body.
The strongest shark bite belongs to the dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus); its jaws have been measured to exert 132 pounds of force.

Remind me never to get on the wrong side of a dusky, please....

[Coley]

Originally Posted by mtngoat

Wow, no, I haven't heard of it. I've always wanted to see one up close... but not for that short a period :P .

Sharks can have from 1 to 100 pups at a time, depending on the type of shark. The ones with pups that grow inside the mother have fewer babies at a time than sharks that lay eggs outside the body.
The strongest shark bite belongs to the dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus); its jaws have been measured to exert 132 pounds of force.

Remind me never to get on the wrong side of a dusky, please....

I'll tell you how you can see one close up, just purcase a Nintendo Wii, buy the game Endless Oceans and play it. I found one yesterday at the bottom of the abyss, scared the pants off of me. Seriously though, it is a very educational game.