Shark

ANGEL SHARK:

Flat body like a stingray -- you can tell the shark is not a ray because the pectoral fins are not attached to the head.

They bury themselves in the sand or mud with only the eyes and part of the top of the body exposed.

They are bottom feeders, eating crustaceans like clams and mollusks and fish that are swimming close to the ocean floor

second largest shark (about 30 feet long and 8,000 pounds)

filters plankton from the water using "gill rakers"

BASKING SHARK:

does well in captivity so is often found in aquariums (which is why we have so many photos of it)

about 6 feet long. grey with a black

tip on its fins and white streak on its side

BLACKTIP REEF SHARK:

about 12 feet long. sleek, tapered body among the fastest

swimming sharks and can even leap out of the water

diet consists mostly of squid, but it will eat almost anything

considered dangerous - have attacked people

BLUE SHARK:

third most dangerous to people can swim in salt and fresh water and have

even been found in the Mississipi river.

BULL SHARK:

small, gentle shark that can be kept in an aquarium with other fish

tail is half its length

ZEBRA SHARK:

biggest shark and biggest fish

it isn't a whale (whales are mammals, not fish)

grow to 45 feet long and 30,000 pounds, but average about 25 feet long

filters plankton from the water using "gill rakers"

WHALE SHARK:

10 foot tail (1/2 as long as the body) which it uses to herd small fish

THRESHER SHARK:

fastest swimmer (43 miles per hour) known to leap out of the water (sometimes

into boats)

MAKO SHARK:

unlikely to attack people, but considered dangerous due to its predatory nature and its size

eyes and nostrils are far apart, giving it a "hammerhead" appearance and allowing the shark to extend the range of its senses.

HAMMERHEAD SHARK:

more attacks on people than any other type.

averages 12 feet long and 3,000 pounds.

unlike most sharks, it can lift its head out of the water.

GREAT WHITE SHARK:

very uncommon and likely the strangest looking shark (rarely seen the photos were actually taken in 1909)

pale, pinkish grey skin with a long pointed snout (it looks a bit like a sword on top of its head)

lives in very deep water.

GOBLIN SHARK

a small shark (less than 2 feet long)

eats perfecty round chunks out of living whales and dolphins by clamping its teeth extremely sharp teeth onto them.

COOKIECUTTER SHARK:

The largest shark known was the Megalodon (Carcharodon or Carcharocles megalodon); it is now extinct. It was an ancient, meat-eating shark that lived between 25 million and 1.6 million years ago. It was up to 40 feet (12 m) long and its teeth were each the size of a person's hand!

SCARIEST SHARK EVER (NOW EXTINCT)

Dwarf Lanternfish (Etmopterus perryi), which is about 7 1/2 to 8 inches (19 - 20 cm) long for fully-grown females and 6 to 7 inches (16 - 17.5 cm) long for adult males

Spined pygmy shark (Squaliolus laticaudus), which is about 8 inches (21 cm) long for fully-grown females and 7 inches (18 cm) long for males

Pygmy ribbontail catshark (Eridacnis radcliffei) , which is about 6 to 7 inches (15 - 16 cm) long for fully-grown females and 7 to 7 1/2 inches (18 - 19 cm) long for males.

Smallest Sharks

The oceanic white-tipped sharks are the most fearless predators. Jacques-Yves Cousteau says that it is: "the only species of shark that is never frightened by the approach of a diver, and they are the most dangerous of all sharks."

MOST DANGEROUS

The fastest swimming sharks are the mako sharks and blue sharks, which can even leap out of the water. They are also among the fastest fish. Estimates of their speed varies; some say that they can swim at about 60 miles per hour (97 kph), while more conservative estimates are about 22 mph (35 kph). There hasn't been enough observation of their speeds to have a definitive answer.

FASTEST

The whale shark has the biggest mouth among sharks.

BIGGEST MOUTH

The thresher sharks have the longest tail among sharks; the upper lobe of their tails are about the same length as their bodies.

LONGEST TAIL

The strongest shark bite belongs to the dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus); its jaws have been measured to exert 132 pounds (60 kg) of force per tooth (James Snodgrass and Perry Gilbert, 1965).

STRONGEST SHARK BITE

The piked dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias) is very abundant, especially in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a small shark, about 63 inches (1.6 m) long.

MOST COMMON SHARK

The whale shark was long thought to be oviparous (an egg 14 inches (36 cm) long was found in the Gulf of Mexico in 1953; this would be the largest egg in the world). Recently, pregnant females have been found containing hundreds of pups. Whale sharks are viviparous, giving birth to live young. Newborns are over 2 feet (60 cm) long.

LARGEST EGGS

The Portuguese shark dives down over 9,000 feet (2750 m). This is over 1.5 miles.

DEEPEST DIVER

The Blue shark had been known to migrate from 1,200-1,700 miles (2000-3000 km) in a seasonal journey from New York state in the USA to Brazil.

LONGEST MIGRATION

One Blue shark was found with 135 pups in her uterus.

LARGEST LITTER