An Essay About Shark

Sharks have been in our oceans for almost 450 million years. Those millions of years of evolution have allowed many different shark species to develop abilities, and to become perfect predators.

Adapted for a wide range of aquatic habitats, various shark species inhabit shallow coastal habitats, deep-water ocean floor habitats, and the open ocean. With a wide selection to feed off of, as a whole the shark species feed on just about everything. Their diet consists of fish,

Do you wanna know what the chances are for you dying from a shark attack? One in 913,200,766! When 43,000 are injured by their toilet! And sharks don’t even like the taste if human flesh (M. R., Ph. (2015, February 08). The Most Misunderstood Shark Fact Of All Time. From http://www.sharksider.com/misunderstood-shark-fact-time/) With the odds being so slim, we got to love these animals a little bit. I mean it’s the animal you were taught to fear your whole life, when it really doesn’t want to hurt you. But even

Sharks are one of the oceans top predators. They vary in size from the extremely small dwarf shark, to the colossal whale shark. Sharks can be found all across the world’s oceans, from the tropic waters of Hawaii to the sub zero temperatures in the Artic oceans. Of the hundreds of sharks a select few species have actually been recorded in the Artic. Of these few, only three of them spend the majority of their time in these harsh, freezing waters. These sharks are the Greenland, Pacific Sleeper, and Salmon sharks.

The great hammerhead shark, also known as Sphyrna mokarran, is a pelagic shark and is found world wide in

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s article “The Brutal Business of Shark Finning” reminds us that sharks play a key role in the ocean as both predators and scavengers.

jaw structure. The teeth are actually modified, enlarged placoid scales. The teeth aren’t anchored in the jaw; they are just embedded on the gums. Unfortunately, when the great white shark eats on its prey, it sometimes loses or breaks the tooth by the flesh. Luckily, sharks have developed a special feature that enables it to replace its missing tooth. They have developed rows of teeth, each tooth moving up to replace the missing one. A whole broken row of teeth can be replenished, just like a conveyor belt. Each tooth, though, has a different shape, changing according to its necessity. The great white has triangular, serrated-edged teeth anywhere from one to two inches long. With this feature, the shark is able to tear through the flesh for its meal. The jaw of the shark is made up of strong bone tissue. It must be very powerful because the shark is designed for feeding.

Sharks have been in existence for more than 300 million years. Their evolution occurred over 150 million years earlier than that of the dinosaurs. Most of the existing fossil data of early sharks was collected from fossilized teeth together with several skin impressions. primitive sharks (Cladodonts) , had teeth which were double-pointed, up to 2metres in length, ate fish as well as crustaceans, and existed approximately 360 million years ago.

The Australian Grey Nurse Shark is also known as the Spotted Ragged-Tooth Shark and as the Sand Tiger Shark ("Australian Threatened Species”). The species is identified by its gray to gray-brown coloration, the possible presence of reddish/brownish spots on the caudal fin and posterior half, their countershading, and by its two almost equally sized dorsal fins. They are known to grow over 3.6 meters in length with the males and females maturing at different lengths, 2.21 meters and 2.2 meters, respectively (McGrouther, 2015). Females also mature significantly later at 9-10 years than their male counterparts, who mature at 6-7 years. Their diet consists of fish,

They can swim at thirty five miles per hour(Institution, Smithsonian). They also have seven rows of teeth(Institution, Smithsonian). They have a total of three hundred triangular serrated teeth(Bradford). When Great white sharks are in the womb they supposedly swallow their own teeth. The first time they sink their teeth in their prey, it is called a sample bite. Sharks normally go up to their prey and taste them to make sure the want to eat them(Bradford). That's why most attacks are not fatal, because the shark tastes the human and thinks yuck that is not what I want to eat and spits them back out. They don't normally mistake humans for food considering only five to ten happen every year(Bradford). Once they sense food they need to get to it fast. They can swim up to fifteen miles per hour(1). Great Whites have to be fast at Cape Cod because they can not sneak attack the

“The pocket shark we found was only 5 and a half inches long, and male,” said Mark Grace of NOAA Fisheries’ laboratory in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The shark's unhealed umbilical scar indicates it was only recently born, a point that raises questions about its birth place and the location of its parents. The other pocket shark was found 36 years ago off the coast of Peru, while this infant was found in Gulf of Mexico. This leaves a lot of unanswered questions for researchers like Grace, who have little information on the range Mollisquama occupy, or where they breed and

the black tip shark has a very pointy nose in fact more pointy than any other sharks it uses a chemical odor to attract a mate near by.

A shark has multiple rows of teeth. The mouth of sharks is in the front of the head. In some species, sharks teeth are replaced as much as once a week. Some sharks have teeth used to crush and grind. These are some what like what humans have. They also have sharp teeth. These can be compared to incisors that humans have. These types of teeth are very important to sharks because they are carnivores and depend on their teeth in order to eat their prey. A sharks body in covered by scales which cover their bodies. These scales make the skin of a shark very rough and strong.

The shark is well known to be feared due to fictional sources such as movies. Reality is different from fiction, but still people continue to overestimate what the shark can do. Sharks are often portrayed as the most gruesome aquatic animals in the sea. In truth, they are not specifically attracted to humans and their ships, but just about anything that’s food to them .The variety of shark species all have one characteristic in common, electroreception.

Upon first glance of this image, a large shark is displayed that is enclosed in a rectangular tunnel-like space. It is unclear where exactly this space is located, however it is most likely not in an aquarium because the space is too small and there are no other fish, marine-like organisms, or marine characteristics around the shark. The shark is probably dead and preserved to be up on display because of the way his mouth is open and because of the white paneling surrounding the space he is confined to. Considering that the shark is in a museum, there must be something remarkable or idiosyncratic about him, such as his size, breed, capabilities, or place of death.