Interesting facts about sharks. Amazing facts about sharks All facts about sharks

Shark is the most dangerous predator of the sea

The shark is the predecessor of the dinosaur.
She is 200 million years older than dinosaurs.
Moreover, over 450 million years (the geological age of the shark),
these ancient representatives of the fauna have not changed at all.

If we talk about sea creatures, then only one of them causes fear and hatred in the overwhelming majority of people. We're talking about sharks. These oldest fish on our planet, which appeared about 400 million years ago, pose a number of inexplicable mysteries to researchers. It’s not for nothing that one of the largest authorities on the underwater world, Jacques Cousteau, said: “The closer we get to know sharks, the less we know about them... you can never predict what a shark will do.”

Shark is a collective name. This is the name of a large group of very ancient fish, which includes 350 species. According to scientists, only 50 of them pose a danger to people. However, more pessimistic experts still advise to be wary of any shark whose length is more than 120 cm. In general, the difference in the size of sharks is simply amazing. There are tiny species, the size of a pencil and weighing up to 200 grams; However, the seas and oceans are also roamed by giant representatives of sharks, whose length can reach up to 20 meters and weight up to 20 tons.

Scientists believe that the sharks that exist today were formed 100 million years ago. Jacques Cousteau said to this set: “Through the abyss of centuries, the bloodthirsty, indestructible shark has reached our time, without the need for evolution, the most ancient killer has arrived, initially armed to fight for existence.” And in fact, these “tigers of the seas” are almost ideally suited for attack. Their neck is very mobile; razor-sharp teeth are fixed directly into the skin of the gums in 4-20 (!) rows and, if necessary, replace each other (a tiger shark “consumes” up to 24 thousand teeth in ten years).

Sharks are endowed with a very sensitive sensory system: nerve cells, which are located from the snout to the tail, form the so-called lateral line; with its help, these predators sense the vibration of water from another animal at a distance of up to 180 meters. In addition, sharks have an amazing sense of smell and are able to sense blood at a distance of several kilometers. Although, nature still deprived this living fossil of one thing: they have poor eyesight (they are nearsighted). So they can decide whether to contact the prey only by getting quite close to it.

The diet of these predators includes almost all living creatures within their reach. Sharks have very few natural enemies. For example, sometimes it can be attacked by a killer whale or a swordfish, but as a rule, the oldest inhabitant of the ocean is afraid only of its own relatives. Usually, they are happy to diversify their menu with weakened or aged companions.

How often does a shark actually attack a person? It turns out not. Although, over the past fifty years, these cases have become more frequent. Apparently, the fact is that every year more and more scuba divers, surfers and diving fans appear in the seas; They, not having the slightest idea about the habits of these predators, often provoke them with their behavior. Nowadays, 15–20 people die every year in collisions with sharks. Although, many victims could survive if they received timely, qualified assistance.

About sharks, we can say that when meeting a person, ancient predators sometimes behave quite strangely: they arch their backs, like cats, open their mouths, quickly move their tails, shake their heads and lower their pectoral fins much lower than usual. Sometimes one gets the impression that they mistake a person for a competitor who is encroaching on their hunting territory, and persistently advise him to get out of harm’s way... The fact that sharks do not consider a person to be food is emphasized by the following circumstances: 3/4 of the victims receive 1-2 hits this predator, after which the aggressor is removed. The wounds show that the giant fish inflicted them only with its upper jaw.

The largest and most terrible in appearance - and at the same time harmless to people! – are whale and basking sharks. These huge creatures are not at all interested in humans. As, indeed, other large animals or fish. After all, representatives of both species feed exclusively on plankton and small fish, filtering water through a kind of giant mesh (its role is played by more than 15 thousand small, very sharp teeth). These mouths inspire involuntary respect: 5 adults can easily fit in it...

These giants constantly move in search of plankton, covering a distance of thousands of kilometers in one to two months. Representatives of both species are very secretive and try to avoid contact with people. Most of the time they prefer to stay at significant depths (1,000–1,500 meters), where darkness reigns and the water is very cold. Only sometimes adult sharks can rise to the surface, but young sharks never leave the depths.

These amazing giant creatures are peaceful and calm; they have no natural enemies. Perhaps in childhood, when the baby is “only” three meters long, he can be swallowed by a sperm whale like a sausage. While working on research vessels, scientists repeatedly photographed whale and basking sharks at close range. The sensible giants even allowed themselves to be stroked. One day, German specialists grabbed one of the giants by the tail. The shark looked at the impudent experimenters very friendly and did not show aggression. The patience of the majestic fish snapped only when one of the scuba divers sat astride it, holding its fin. True, in this situation, the 20-meter giant behaved surprisingly correctly: he did not throw off the man, but simply began to slowly dive.

Unlike the huge representatives of living fossils, the white shark (Carcharodon) is actually extremely aggressive and dangerous. The white shark usually reaches 5-6 meters in length (the weight of this predator is more than 3 tons), although 12-meter individuals are rare. Fortunately for scuba diving enthusiasts, Carcharodon is a rare fish and not easy to come across. Most often among the cannibals, tiger, sand, gray, mako and its relatives, hammerhead sharks and a group of carcharine (brown, blue, twilight, lemon, blacktip and whitetip) sharks are also called.

Freshwater predators, such as the bull shark that lives in lakes Nicaragua and Izabal (Guatemala), the Ganges shark and “tigers” found in the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers, also pose a danger to humans. Some experts believe that similar fish lived in... the Volga back in the 70-80s of the last century! Perhaps they are responsible for the disappearance of fishermen, scuba divers and poachers, strange scars on the bodies of large sturgeons and belugas. On the banks of the Volga there are stories of people being dragged under water and women being attacked while rinsing clothes. Most likely, it was sharks that started the dark stories...

When is the risk of getting to an ancient predator for lunch especially high? It turns out that in order for a shark to attack a person, a number of circumstances must occur, such as hunger and the absence of “ordinary” food - fish, octopus or squid. In addition, the water temperature must be at least 20 degrees Celsius, otherwise the shark stops feeding altogether. But what else influences the mood of a prehistoric predator is unknown. In addition, they sometimes show extreme aggressiveness even at a water temperature of only 13 degrees...

It is known about sharks that they can attack people both at depth and 10–50 meters from the shore. Why this happens is not entirely clear. Most likely, overuse of fishing forces sharks to look for additional sources of food. In addition, supporters of scuba diving often ignore the warnings of the authorities and go straight to the habitat of ancient predators. So the latter do not hunt people, but come across them while hunting by chance. Unfortunately, as a rule, such contacts end disastrously for careless divers...

Much is known about shark attacks on people. Gloomy stories are readily published, and films telling about the atrocities of these ocean inhabitants are very popular. But who knows, maybe among the sharks themselves there are stories about aggressive human predators? At least such “horror stories” would have a completely legal basis. Indeed, in a number of countries, there has been a constant hunt for these creatures since ancient times.

The meat of living fossils (especially the fins of soup sharks) is considered a valuable and healthy food product; liver, rich in fat and high in vitamins, has found widespread use; Bags and other haberdashery are made from shark skin, and it is also needed in making felt (soft fleece is made with special brushes from the skin of ancient fish); Their teeth are used as souvenirs. In general, a person uses almost the entire caught predator.

However, quite often the fins of a living predator are cut off and left to die slowly and painfully in the sea. Fishing at times takes on such a scale that the population of these ocean inhabitants off the coast of a number of countries began to decline catastrophically. Because of this, the authorities are forced to introduce a complete or partial ban on catching these ancient creatures. And yet some species have now been destroyed by 80–90%.

In general, the shark is unique. For example, being a fish, it can easily... drown! In order to avoid this unenviable fate, this ancient fish must constantly be in motion, with its mouth slightly open. This is the only way it can capture and pass through the gills the volume of water necessary for normal breathing (the jaw muscles intended for “pumping” are poorly developed in the shark). So they can rest for no more than an hour. If the stop is longer, these predators die from suffocation.

In addition, sharks do not have a swim bladder and, despite a large liver soaked in fat (its weight is 1/5 of the weight of the entire body), they lack the so-called neutral buoyancy. Therefore, when the movement stops, the shark does not “hang” in the water, but slowly goes to the bottom, that is, it drowns...

But, as you know, there are no rules without exceptions. For example, a sand shark is able to swallow air and hold it in its stomach, providing itself with buoyancy for several hours. Other members of this family also have the opportunity to stop and “meditate.” True, only in some places. In the Caribbean Sea, not far from the coast of Mexico, extensive grottoes with several exits were discovered relatively recently. At their bottom there are springs of fresh water. Here are the real “bedrooms” or “beauty salons” of ancient monsters.

Living fossils spend several days in these grottoes; the current there is weak, and they lie on the bottom, after which they fall into a stupor. Although sharks do not sleep in the full sense of the word and continue to observe living creatures, they are not aggressive and practically do not move. All physiological functions of their body slow down sharply. Not all predators enter grottoes. There it is possible to find representatives of only a few species: nurse shark, bull shark, Caribbean shark, sand shark and (very rarely) blue shark.

Another feature of the sharks’ body is that they do not have a strong bone skeleton, which in these ocean inhabitants is replaced by cartilage. And the eyes of sharks are protected by a nictitating membrane, which lowers before an attack. In some species of these creatures, the eyes can even turn inside the head! It is also curious that sharks are the only living creature that, for unknown reasons, does not get cancer.

They do not have a constant body temperature: it is close to the ambient temperature. But some representatives of these creatures can “warm up” their muscle tissue with the help of blood vessels-heat exchangers. After all, warm muscles are more effective during hunting than cold ones!

By the way, these monsters are surprisingly gluttonous and absolutely not picky about food. The stomachs of sharks can stretch, increasing in size several times; Sometimes completely unexpected objects are found in them. For example, a shark killed near a pier in Australia managed to “dine” on half a ham, a lamb, a bulldog (!) and... a ship scraper. And her relative, who was caught in the Adriatic Sea, was seduced by three coats, a raincoat and a license plate.

Because a shark does not need food every day, strange fish can stock up on provisions. In this case, nature has endowed them with a kind of “extra” stomach, where the contents can be stored without spoiling for 10 days to a month. Scientists cannot say what contributes to such high-quality “preservation”. When the monster gets really hungry, it “transfers” the stored food to its main stomach. If the shark has used up its supply of “canned food”, it rushes at everything that gets in its way. Once, a short-sighted predator even managed to “bite”… a delayed-action depth charge! True, this meal was the last in his life...

To this day, it is not clear how sharks adapt to life in fresh water in a short period of time. In general, they often puzzle scientists. The survivability of sharks has become the talk of the town. Repeatedly, fishermen, carelessly approaching this aggressor, who had not shown signs of life for quite a long time, received serious injuries: the “dead” fish tried to grab them with their teeth. There are also cases where people lost limbs when approaching... a gutted shark! And several centuries ago, a kind of “revolution” took place in the ocean: blue, whitetip and silky sharks, which played a secondary role for more than nine million years, quickly replaced the former owners of the water spaces - mako and white sharks. Why? The answer, as you understand, is no.

And one more mystery: somehow a 70-centimeter female shark, which cannot be attributed to any of the known species, ended up in the Bavarian aquarium “Sea Star”. The mysterious creature actually can't swim (instead it bounces around in the water), has huge teeth and hair. The location of the predator's eyes is also atypical. In addition, it can fold its fins, just like whales do. None of the experts was able to determine the species identity of the mysterious fish.

So, these ancient predators are still the most mysterious creatures living in the ocean. But our era may be the last for a living fossil. It seems that the terrible sea monster will disappear into oblivion before science can unravel all its secrets. And will he even be able to?

There are many species of sharks in the world, although when we hear the word “shark,” most of us think of a huge killer fish from some Hollywood horror film, terrifying the coastal waters. In fact, not all types of sharks are dangerous to humans, and those that can harm or kill do not often cause the death of a careless diver.

1. Sharks don't feel pain.
2. The largest shark that ever lived on earth was the megalodon, now extinct. Judging by the fossil remains, megalodons reached thirty meters in length.
3. Some types of sharks can be called very fast fish - they reach speeds of up to 50 km/h (see).
4. At the same time, the Greenland shark, which by the way is a delicacy in Iceland, swims at a speed of only 2.5 km/h (see).
5. Sharks can't sleep. The fact is that they can pass water through their gills, taking oxygen from it, only during swimming, since shark gills at rest cannot “suck in” water themselves. Thus, sharks never sleep, otherwise they will simply suffocate.
6. Sharks have eyelids, but they still never blink.
7. Occasionally, white sharks even swim into the Black Sea (see facts about animals of the Black Sea).
8. Sharks are able to sense blood diluted in seawater in a ratio of one to a million. Yes, their sense of smell is indeed very, very acute.
9. The natural magnetic field of our planet, which these fish can sense, serves as a kind of “compass” for sharks.
10. The shark's eye can perceive almost twice as many frames per second as the human eye.
11. Sharks' hearing is about half as sensitive as that of humans.
12. Contrary to the widespread myth about the danger of sharks, the shark occupies one of the last places on the list of aquatic creatures potentially dangerous to humans.
13. The place where the largest number of shark attacks on people is recorded is the US coast, Florida.
14. An adult white shark is able to bite through steel rods as thick as a little finger.
15. The largest white sharks ever caught weighed about 3.5 tons and reached tens of meters in length.
16. The white shark is a formidable predator, however, it is hunted with pleasure by killer whales (see).
17. On average, an adult white shark consumes about 11 tons of food annually.
18. White sharks do not live in captivity, refusing food and preferring starvation to imprisonment.
19. The skin of a tiger shark is approximately ten times tougher than that of an adult bull.
20. Unlike the white shark, the tiger shark will attack even inedible objects. Moreover, they will make every effort to devour them. Even wooden barrels have been found in the stomachs of tiger sharks.
21. The bull shark can live in fresh water.
22. By the way, of all the sharks, it is the bull shark that makes the most attacks on people (up to half, according to statistics), and not the great white.
23. The number of teeth in different species of sharks varies from thirty to fifteen thousand.
24. The largest shark is the whale shark, but it has the smallest teeth, only about 6 millimeters long.
25. During a hunt, a white shark can jump out of the water to a height of up to three meters.
26. A tiger shark, clenching its jaws, can easily split the shell of a large turtle.
27. In most cases, the shark only attacks an opponent that is weaker than it. That is why the shark usually circles around the victim before an attack - it studies it and wonders whether it should contact it.
28. The weight of a baby whale shark can reach hundreds of kilograms.
29. The longest-living shark is the polar one, living in the cold waters near Antarctica (see). She can live up to two hundred years.
30. Some species of sharks grind their teeth, thus communicating with their relatives.
31. The closest relative of sharks from a biological point of view is the stingray.
32. The northern shark daily consumes food in quantities comparable to half its own body weight.
33. The angel shark is a fish as flat as the flounder.
34. The northern shark readily hunts seagulls, jumping out of the water and catching unwary birds.
35. The lemon shark is quite tamed. But these fish must be handled with caution - they are very vindictive, oddly enough.

There are more than 550 species of sharks living on our planet, and we periodically come across information about sharks from news sources. However, we know little interesting facts related to them, for example, that sharks have been living on the planet for more than 400 million years. That is, it turns out that sharks are older than dinosaurs...

So, we present to you the most interesting facts about sharks!

Shark Physiology Facts

48. There are known cases when a shark, breaking through the sides of ships, got stuck in them. In 1968, a species of giant shark was caught, and later a whale shark “crashed” into the tanker.

49. The place with the most documented shark attacks on humans per year is New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

50. The nurse shark instantly tightens its jaws on the victim’s body, and it is difficult to unclench them, even after carrying the predator ashore.

51. One of the factors that causes sharks to attack inedible objects is their excessive curiosity: the cat sniffs an unknown object, and the shark bites it.

52. Scientists have revealed a secret - sharks have their own idea about a possible attack. Predators use their own sign system, which is supposed to scare away uninvited guests from the human world.

53. Experts have divided all types of shark attacks into three strategies - a one-time attack, “strike and bite”, and also a “hidden attack”. For humans, it is the third type of attack that is especially dangerous.

54. Canadian ichthyologists have found a scientific basis for gender preferences in shark attacks. There are more predators because men are more “afraid” of sharks, i.e. The body of any male produces many times more stress hormones.

55. Theorists believe that a clothed person getting into the water will attract less attention from sharks than a naked person.

Watch the video - A white shark sinks a boat with people:

The best facts about the white shark

56. The force of compression of the jaws of a white shark is about 600 kg/cm2. The white predator can easily bite through thin steel rods.

57. According to US statistical services, in the first decade of the 21st century, 244 attacks were known since... the end of the 16th century, and only 65 episodes were fatal.

58. Only in 1873 did the great white shark receive its “official” name in Latin - Carcharodon; before that it was called differently everywhere.

59. Carcharodon becomes a superpredator only in the 7th year of life, when its jaw acquires powerful teeth. A juvenile great white shark feeds exclusively on fish.

60. The great white reaches sexual maturity at the age of 15 years, and the average lifespan of a white shark is 30 years.

61. There is a known case when a great white shark itself completely jumped into the fishermen’s longboat (1936).

62. The great white shark itself is a favorite food of another large predator - the killer whale.

63. At the last moment of the attack, the great white shark closes its eyes to protect them from the cat’s claws.

64. There are known caught specimens of the great white shark reaching a length of over 10 meters. At the same time, the weight of the huge predator reached 3.5 tons.

65. Carcharodon parents do not train their young. Young predators must survive on their own.

66. Less than half, namely only 47% of all great white shark attacks are successful.

72. There are known cases when explosives, cannonballs and powder barrels, as well as various metals - cans, buckets and all sorts of small iron items were found in the stomach of a tiger shark.

73. Tiger shark skin is 10 times stronger than bull hide.

74. The tiger shark can compete on equal terms with the great white shark for primacy in the title of “killer shark”.

75. The tiger shark is considered a nocturnal predator. There is an assumption that daylight bright light may disorient her.

76. The tiger shark, unlike Carcharodon, will never leave its prey, even if it is inedible. The tiger shark simply regurgitates all undigested objects in the stomach.

77. Large tiger sharks have their same voracious sand brothers. The stomachs of these predators can accommodate up to 50 kg of prey at a time.

80. According to statistics, it is the bull shark that commits about half of all attacks on people.

81. It is known that in India, the dead of the upper caste are thrown into the sacred waters of the Ganges, where voracious bull sharks await them.

82. A bull shark is capable of attacking prey in shallow water at a depth of up to half a meter.

120. Scientists say that the reason for the beaching of large sharks, including whale sharks, is the increased radar coverage of the waters.

Watch video: The largest fish on the planet is the whale shark

Unique facts about the polar shark

121. The polar shark is helped not to freeze in the icy waters of the Arctic by its “natural antifreeze” - the predator’s tissues contain ammonia from its urine (nitrogen trimethylamine).

122. Ocean crustaceans accumulate in front of the polar shark’s eyes. At great depths they begin to glow. This helps the shark attract its prey.

123. is a long-lived shark. This predator lives the longest: about 200 years, which is explained by its slow metabolism.

124. The growth of the polar shark is the slowest - the predator grows, on average, by only 5 cm in 10 years.

125. The polar shark has the largest liver among all sharks: in the northern predator, the mass of this organ accounts for up to 20% of the total weight.

126. In terms of its size, the polar shark is in 6th place among other large sharks.

127. Despite the low degree of aggressiveness and too small teeth (7 mm), the polar shark still found its way into Eskimo legends as a dangerous “beast” for fishermen, which can hunt both deer and kayakers.

128. The polar shark has neither kidneys nor genitourinary organs. All secretions in polar sharks occur through the skin.

129. Scientists explain the slowness of the polar shark precisely by the content of trimethylamine nitrogen or ammonia in urine in its muscles and skin.

Watch video - Cold-resistant polar shark:

130. The most common type of shark is the dog shark, also known as the spiny shark.

131. The female katran bears her offspring longer than anyone except the frilled shark. Her gestation period is up to 22 months.

132. The age of a katran can be determined by its “poisonous” thorn: in cross-section, it has the same “annual rings” as trees.

133. It is known that katran liver contains 10 times more vitamin A than cod liver.

134. It was with the katran shark that the mass fishery of sharks began.

135. In a katran egg, the yolk mass exceeds the mass of a chicken yolk, and in Norway they also make flour from this shark, which consists of up to 85% pure protein.

136. actually does not contain poison, but, nevertheless, an injection from such a thorn is dangerous for a person due to the harm of microorganisms that live in his mucus.

137. In ancient times, people used the “thorns” of katran as toothpicks, of course, without tragic consequences.

138. Katran is practically insatiable, and therefore he constantly annoys fishermen, stealing away the entire catch. In some countries there were even rewards for caught katrans.

Video - Katran sharks are also found in the Black Sea:

Amazing facts from the life of sharks

139. A shark can die from the urchin fish Diodon. Accidentally swallowed by a predator, it “rips open” all its insides, which leads to the death of the shark.

140. A shark can “grind its teeth” at its relatives; this crunching of its jaws is part of the standard alphabet. Sharks can also talk with their tail, or rather with the help of its movements.

141. In some waters, for example, in the Great Barrier Reef, sea snakes also hunt together with sharks and attack fish hiding from large predators among the branches of corals.

143. special “cleaners” - pilot fish. There is a myth that these fish help sharks “see” their prey, since the predators themselves “see poorly.”

144. benefits the latter, since they are completely safe near the jaw of such a predator. In addition, the shark, with its own movement, carries along with it the flow of water, which allows these cunning creatures to spend almost no energy on significant movements.

145. According to their anatomical relationship, the closest to sharks are stingrays, which, like these predators, are cartilaginous fish.

146. There are some fish that a shark cannot eat. For example, a Moses fish can release a chemical compound into a shark's mouth that causes the predator to spit out the fish. Scientists are trying to find a formula for this substance to use as a defense against sharks.

147. A raven will not peck out a crow’s eye - it turns out that this rule also works among sharks. Although predators feed on carrion, the smell of a shark’s corpse can scare them away.

148. A shark can - such a burn reaction on the body of a predator is caused by the 6-meter-long Petra algae in the Atlantic. The plant can sting a predator very painfully in the thin skin of the gills, and besides, it also scares them away with its poisonous smell.

149. A shark can “teach reason” to its fellow tribesman not only aggressively, but also demonstratively. For example, a predator can “lower” a stupid fellow, pressing him with his muzzle to the very bottom.

150. When frightened, a shark, as a rule, begins to “write figure eights” around the object.

151. According to the migration routes, all sharks can be divided into “local” (swim no more than 150 km), “curious” (up to 1500 km), and “vagrants” (migrate across the oceans).

152. Among the significant factors influencing the mortality of sharks, experts include the presence in the ocean of a large amount of marine debris, which enters the digestive system of the predator, causing death.

153. Scientists talk about the catastrophic situation of 25% of all shark species. Thus, in US waters, the population of the whitetip shark has already decreased by 99%, the fox shark - by 90%, the great white - by 79%, the mako - by 40%, the blue shark - by 60%, and the tiger shark - by 70%.

Watch video - Walking Shark:

Interesting facts about different types of sharks

154. In New Zealand there is a species of shark called the Swell Shark. This shark can bark like a dog.

155. A shark can change the shape of its body. Thus, in case of danger, a Californian shark can swell to inflate its opponent.

156. or the elephant shark obtains food for itself with its “trunk”. With a growth on her chin she searches for bottom-dwelling mollusks and crayfish.

157. The small northern shark, on average, weighs about 60 kg, but such a predator eats about 30 kg of fish per day, i.e. half your own weight.

158. The small northern shark can also hunt birds. Thus, this predator often eats gaping seagulls.

159. There is a known case when scientists tagged a northern shark, and 15 years later they caught it again in the same place.

161. The body shape of the angel shark is so flat that these predators are often perceived as part of the bottom topography.

162. The laziest sharks are nurse sharks, which can lie on the sandy bottom for hours, and sometimes overlap each other during such relaxation.

163. The Portuguese spiny dog ​​shark is considered the deepest-sea shark. They were discovered at a depth of 3.5 kilometers.

164. – a dangerous predator for humans. The fastest among sharks, capable of accelerating up to 50 km/h and jumping out of the water with ease. There are cases where a mako shark, jumping out of the water, dragged people along with it.

165. changes its color depending on the age of the individual. The young animals of these predators are indeed colored like zebras, but representatives of the older generation look more like leopards.

166. Sand shark pups are the largest babies among large predators; they are born already a meter long. There are only two cubs in the female's litter.

167. Sharks have their own “cows” - this is the name of a whole species of sixgill sharks, which are distinguished by their thick build and amazing inactivity. Although these cows are not vegetarians at all, they are not at all dangerous to humans.

168. A harmless and harmless shark with a mustache, due to its ferocious appearance and toothed mouth curved downwards, was unfairly called a dog shark.

169. has two “animal” names at once: because of its upturned lip it is called a “bulldog”, and because of its flat snout with characteristic nostrils it is called a “pig”.

170. The cat shark, like its land-based “sister,” is distinguished by excellent night vision - around the eyes of such a predator there are sensitive sensors with which the shark “catch” even weak electrical signals from other inhabitants of the ocean.

171. Among sharks there are also “rusty” predators. This is the name of a representative of the family of collared sharks because of their characteristic rusty color. The body of such a shark is covered with many dark spots, but the soul is as pure as that of a lamb - this species is not at all dangerous to humans.

172. The shark family also has its own “bearded sages”. Predators of the species, having grown special growths on their heads, similar to a beard, generally prefer to lie on bottom reliefs and look for food there, sifting sand with their “beard”. For such sharks, the truth is at the bottom!

173. Only three species of sharks are filter feeders - basking, whale and largemouth sharks. Their food is plankton, small fish and squid.

174. The lemon shark, unlike its “wild” and restive relatives, can even be tamed. In addition, this species has a good memory and can take revenge on its offenders.

175. In the USA, scientists managed to get offspring from a shark in captivity; it was a lemon predator.

176. Young lemon sharks live only in shallow water for about 10 years after their birth.

177. The daily dose of a lemon shark’s diet is up to 5% of its own weight, and no more.

Watch video - Beautiful and diverse sharks:

Facts about the unusual structure of the shark

178. A shark does not have a single bone in its body, and the skeleton consists of cartilage.

179. A solution of a shark’s gastric juice can digest a metal object in a couple of months. A shark can get rid of the remains of undigested garbage by “rinsing” its stomach, i.e. turning it inside out into the water.

180. consists of two parts: the working body and an additional “refrigerated warehouse”, where the shark can “store” its prey for weeks, just in case.

181. In young sharks, the liver makes up up to 20% of its total mass, while for an adult this figure is only 6%.

182. A shark, unlike all fish, does not have a swim bladder. It floats on water only thanks to its large liver.

183. The main difference between a shark and all fish is , which, in relation to the body weight of the predator, brings it closer to the class of mammals.

184. The anatomy of the shark’s jaw is unique - its upper part is in no way connected to the bones of the skull itself, and therefore moves completely freely.

185. At the moment of the bite, the lower jaw tightly fixes the victim, and the upper jaw powerfully chops it horizontally and vertically.

186. located at the very head, immediately after the gill arches, i.e. the heart sac (pericardium) in these predators is shifted more forward compared to other species of vertebrates.

187. Sharks have a very large autonomy of the spinal cord, which is located in the vertebral canal. Even if you decapitate a predator, it will continue to make aimless movements for some time - this is how spinal cord stimulators work.

188. The main shark “attribute” - the dorsal fin - is intended only to stabilize the body of the predator; this is its keel. This part of the shark’s “feather” is not suitable for high-speed and maneuverable actions.

189. The anterior dorsal fin varies among different species of sharks. A large triangle - a classic of the genre - is an attribute of the great white shark and other pelagic species.

190. For benthic species of sharks, the dorsal fin is not so important and may even be almost undeveloped. But they have strong and durable pectoral fins and tail feathers.

191. The muscles of the pectoral fins of a predator are completely autonomous from the brain and are concentrated only in its skeletal cartilage. It happens that the fins move even on an already dead shark.

192. The scales of shark skin in each species have their own structure and shape, completely matching the shape of the predator’s teeth.

193. The skin of female sharks is usually thicker than that of males. Thus, in a blue shark, the female has a skin covering three times greater than the thickness of the male’s skin. This is a natural defense experienced on the male side.

194. The weight of a shark’s brain correlates with the total mass of the predator in the same proportions as in developed mammals, which indicates the presence of intelligence in sharks, and not just instincts.

195. The snout occupies about 30% of its total length.

196. The shark’s skull consists of two sections - the braincase and the skeleton of the gill and oral apparatus.

197. The placoid skin of sharks is considered the most ancient formation in phylogenesis.

198. The body of a shark, in addition to its cartilaginous formations, consists of muscles of 3 categories: cardiac muscles, muscles of internal organs and digestion, as well as muscles of the fins and head.

199. Large pelagic sharks, when caught on the deck of a ship, can even crush all their internal organs with their own weight, so such predators are transported for aquariums in huge tanks of water.

Watch video - Carpet shark attacks horned shark:

Video - Amazing Elephant Ghost Shark:

Facts about the exceptional reproduction of sharks

200. A whale shark egg is larger than an ostrich egg. Its rectangular egg measuring 35x60 cm was discovered in 1953 in the Gulf of Mexico.

201. Sharks are known for their uterine cannibalism: cubs that have not yet been born can eat each other.

202. carries away up to 70% of young sharks. These poor fellows do not live to see their birth.

203. A hammerhead shark brood numbers about 30-40 babies at a time.

204. Science knows several cases, i.e. reproduction without the participation of a male individual.

205. Sharks do not show changes in fertility, and there are no hereditary diseases.

206. Sharks can “repair” their gene set themselves. The birth of mutants and freaks in the shark environment is rare, and such “damaged” individuals always remain viable.

207. Puberty in large sharks ends by the 9-10th year of life. Medium and small predators are ready for annual mating, but great white and whale sharks give birth to offspring on average three times in 10 years.

208. To regulate the hormonal balance and readiness to reproduce in sharks, water temperature is of great importance, so predators for these matters migrate to the shores of warm ocean continents - Australia, Africa, America.

209. There is a version among scientists that a female shark retains sperm from several months to a couple of years and can use it long after mating contacts have occurred.

210. One female shark can be fertilized by several males, but the young will still come from one “father.”

211. As a rule, sharks never change their breeding grounds and return there from any part of the world's oceans.

212. The large liver of a newborn baby shark is a natural support for the baby, so he can live longer without food, and this way it is easier for him to maintain his buoyancy.

213. Shark offspring are born in shallow water. Here he is less likely to encounter aggressive large predators and, therefore, has a greater chance of surviving.

214. Females of some species of sharks - which is not much reminiscent of the “fish” method of reproduction.

215. Empty eggs of some species of sharks on the islands of Oceania, which wash ashore, are called “mermaid purses” by the population.

216. There are unusually prolific species of sharks. So, once a blue shark was caught - a female with 135 embryos in the uterus.

217. The size is more similar to bird eggs in size and structure.

218. A female shark can consciously suppress the action of the exocrine glands, i.e. suppress your hunger by refusing food for up to six months. At the same time, predators can remain active. This is how the mother shark takes care of preserving the lives of her newborn babies, whom she might otherwise eat herself.

Watch the video: Cannibal embryos - ready to kill already in the womb

219.: there are several cases when predators managed to develop a “conditioned reflex” according to the principle: “action-food”.

220. In ancient times, in Hawaii, people staged gladiator fights, the participants of which were warriors with daggers made from shark teeth and the sharks themselves.

221. The loudest and most famous “duck” about a shark in the Western media is that he killed the shark by landing on the predator’s head.

222. It is known that in Borneo, in order to stop the crying of a baby, a “saw” cut from a saw shark and wrapped in cloth was hung over its cradle.

224. In Bermuda, the natives used shark fat instead of a barometer - they filled a bottle with it, which became cloudy when a storm came, and with the return of warmth it became transparent again.

225. About 50 species of sharks are the most dangerous to human life, of which only 12 species are potentially aggressive.

226. After the bloody tragedies of 2010 in Egypt, the authorities announced the real extent of losses in the country’s tourism sector. They equated to losses of $200,000 per predator.

227. Safe swimming among sharks occurs when the diver succeeds, i.e. “lull” the predator by touching her snout and turning her over on her back.

228. An interesting observation was made in several aquariums: it turns out that sharks are even able to remember their “trainer divers” and sometimes become attached to them for a long time.

229. In ancient times, sacrifices were made to sharks as deities of the seas. So, in one of the Pacific tribes, a priest threw a rope noose into a crowd of people. The victim caught in it was quartered and thrown into the ocean to appease the predator.

230. The first historical description of sharks was Herodotus, who in his notes told how shipwrecked Persian sailors were mercilessly devoured by entire hordes of oceanic monsters.

231. The word “shark” itself (shark - English) appeared in the speech of the sailors of Foggy Albion in 1569. They used to call sharks "sea wolves." Maybe that's why the shark was considered the emblem of pirates - they are sea wolves?

232., in particular, AC/DC hits. This conclusion was reached by an Australian tour manager who organizes cage dives among sharks. Now his company is the only one that uses heavy metal sounds (aka low-frequency vibrations) to lure predators.

233. A Turkish inventor developed a concept car based on the body of a shark. The car runs on a cushion of air and can both glide on water and drive on land.

234. Excessive fear of sharks is called Galeophobia. Comes from "galeos" (from the ancient Greek "chimera").

235. In 1980, an experiment was conducted on the effectiveness of a shark compared to a submarine. It turned out that in the ratio of the masses of both participants, the shark uses a “drive” that is 6 times more powerful than the submarine, without loss of propulsion properties. Since then, developments have begun to use not smooth, but rough and rough coatings for boats, ships and even swimsuits.

236. Before the advent of sandpaper technology, shark skin was used as a polishing material.

237. The most fashionable and expensive shark food is soup, for which up to 30 million predators are killed a year. In terms of cost, this stew was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

238. Today, the global project for the conservation and rescue of sharks is ignored by about 20 large countries with water borders. These include Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Spain, India, Argentina.

239. At the end of the 20th century, 57 species of sharks were listed in the International Red Book.

240. US scientists have come up with a robot surfer to track great white sharks off the coast of California. The surfer robot is equipped with an online connection, which allows specialists not only to track the movements of these predators, but also to view videos and photos of carcharodons obtained with its help.

241. The largest shark, or rather its 136-meter inflatable dummy, was chosen by the PR people of the Discovery Channel as a decoration for their own headquarters.

242. One of the oldest references to sharks is a drawing on an Italian vase dating back to 700 AD. It shows a man-eating shark and its victim. The vase was found on the island of Ischia.

243. Rodney Fox, almost bitten in half by a great white shark in his youth, remained alive and became not just a researcher of these predators, but also their most ardent defender.

244. It is interesting that the word “shark” owes its origin not to America or Australia - their permanent habitats, but to Scandinavia, where, in principle, there have never been large predators.

245. Even in the Russian language, the 19th century scientist O. Dahl found an English borrowing - sharq. Thus, in his famous dictionary of our language, “shark” is also denoted by the words “sea dog”, “sea wolf” and also “sea cannibal”.

246. – this is exactly how environmental pirates from the Marine Fauna Conservation Society behave. Their actions are aimed against poaching, however, in some countries such environmental antics of the Sea Shepherd are equated to terrorism.

247. It is known that a very rare substance is extracted from the liver of sharks - squalene, which in ancient times was considered the strongest medicine. In the post-war period, American gangsters “produced” olive oil from shark squalene, because the real product from Europe was still unusually expensive.

248. In ancient times, on the Hawaiian islands there was a special mitten - a “knight’s” lady’s glove, studded with shark teeth - with such a weapon ladies defended themselves from the encroachments of strange men.

249. Even canes are made from sharks! Shark vertebrae are strung on a metal rod. The average cost of such a cane is $20.

250. Baby sharks and small sharks are made into embalmed mummies, which are considered household trinkets.

252. In antiquity, a lot of potions were prepared from sharks: for painless teething, a baby’s gums were smeared with ashes from shark teeth; to relieve toothache in adults, an oil solution of shark brains was prepared; The male shark genitals, as well as the fins of the predator, are an ideal means for enhancing potency and activity.

253. American oceanographer W. Beebe called sharks “silent cowards,” since these predators themselves are really “afraid” of humans because of their rather large size.

254. For a bloodless and safe study of sharks, ichthyologists have created a real robot shark that can imitate the habits of these predators and swim in the water for up to 4 hours at a speed of up to 5 km/h.

255. Microchipping of sharks may soon be replaced by new technologies - development is underway to create robotic shark satellites that will “attach” to predators or accompany them everywhere.

256. The very first appearance of a shark on screen happened in 1915, and it was a comedy film! The film was called "Billiard Sharks" and, most likely, remained the only "fun" film about predators.

257. The director and the group called the famous monster “the big white shit”, since the electronic dummy of the predator constantly broke down, and because of it, the most famous aquathriller in the world was even rewritten several times.

258. Two hundred bags of garbage collected from the coasts were needed to create the odious full-size whale shark sculpture. This was how the artist symbolically expressed his protest against modern man littering the world.

259. Seeing a scary shark in a dream is not always a nightmare. According to Freud's theory, such a dream can guarantee excellent sexuality and health. But a wounded shark, as well as salvation from a predator, are already bad dreams.

260. In 2011, a fisherman caught a white-finned predator near California. In her belly there were 8 normal sharks and one cyclops. In addition, the tail part of the body was also deformed.

261. Residents of Australia managed to make a lot of money from sharks. When there was a flood in the city of Gudna, businessmen had only to spread rumors about bull sharks swimming around the city, and property prices in the area plummeted.

262. Siamese twins or a shark with two heads and one body was discovered by university staff in La Molina, Peru. It turned out to be an embryo removed from a pregnant blue predator weighing half a kilogram and 22 cm tall. The cub did not survive.

263. A “walking” shark was once purchased in a store by a Malaysian owner. She found almost frog-like legs on the animal's carcass, which later turned out to be the predator's male genitals.

Watch video - Dangerous dancing with tiger sharks:

Modern facts about ancient sharks

265. Sharks are the oldest inhabitants of the planet. They predate all vertebrates, including dinosaurs and humans. The shark story has already stretched back over 400 million years.

266. Among the ancient and already extinct predators were Helicoprion sharks, which had spiral-shaped teeth.

267. Not all ancient sharks were giants the size of a megalodon. 375 million years BC e. In the ocean lived a 2-meter predator - the Devonian shark Cladoselachia, which was also distinguished by its low speed of movement.

268. 300 million years ago, a small meter-long shark lived in the ocean, whose head was covered with numerous sharp spines, deflected back. And the back had a row of spikes in the opposite direction. With these “spines” the shark could cling to larger fish, feeding from their “master’s table” and without wasting energy on movement.

269. About 190 million years ago, Cretoxyrina, a 6-meter shark, existed in the ocean, which successfully hunted marine dinosaurs.

270. In prehistoric times, a huge shark fin protruding above the surface was a means of camouflaging a predator; from a distance, its shape reminded enemies of a shark... a huge mouth.

271. The terrible monsters of antiquity - megalodons - had very tender feelings for their children. American scientists have found a whole host of these predators, where the kids had a truly happy childhood and complete safety until they came of age.

272. At the beginning of the Carboniferous period (360-286 million years ago), scientists suggest the so-called “golden age” of the shark. It was by this time that there was the greatest species diversity of shark predators.

273. On the fossil remains of sharks. Thus, one collector already has his own paleontological museum with valuable shark relics worth a total value of over $12 billion.

Watch video - Meeting with the prehistoric shark Megalodon:

Home facts about aquarium sharks

274. A freshwater shark or shark catfish that lives in an aquarium is very cowardly - when it faces any threat, it can either pretend to be dead or even jump out of the aquarium.

275. can be kept in large aquariums due to their slowness and relatively calm nature. These predators can even be trained.

276. Among aquarium sharks, there is an odious species - black sharks. And among them there are albinos – almost white or transparent “black” sharks.

277. The spiny katran shark has its own aquarium “relative”, which has a mass of small beads on its abdomen, which look like small spines. In Europe, such an aquarium shark is also called a grumpy beast.

278. Among aquarium fish similar to sharks, there are unusually timid species, in particular, the shark baloo, which is subject to stress and cannot live near other predators at all.

279. Aquarium sharks, as a rule, are not predators at all; they are only similar in appearance to their formidable counterparts. Although the pennant shark can eat its neighbors in the aquarium.

Watch the video - Real sharks in your aquarium:

Facts about shark fishing

280. Fishermen know that from a carcass of a killed tiger shark weighing 200 kg, only 50 kg of clean meat, 38 liters of liver fat, 9 kg of flour and 1.5 kg of fins can be obtained.

281. It is known that the meat of freshly killed shark is very unstable. Her liver loses its quality in the very first minutes, and the predator’s skin will completely turn sour if it is not removed from the body within 6 hours.

282. To catch pelagic sharks, the bottom uplifts are first examined, since this is where these predators form powerful concentrations. The tiers are put up in the morning and removed at sunset.

283. All known fishing gear is used to catch sharks. The specific choice of the right gear should correspond not only to the type of predator, but also to the prey area, as well as the characteristics of the bottom topography.

284. To catch large sharks, I almost always use the pelagic longline, which usually consists of 365 “baskets” (sections), each equipped with 5 hooks. The tier consists of 300 such sections. Thus, the length of the gear can reach up to 100 km!

285. As bait for catching sharks, fishermen use light, silvery fish up to 25 cm in length, as well as stingrays and large pieces of meat or fish.

286. The catch of one average fishing vessel in one hour of trawling can range from 2 to 15 tons of small bottom or coastal sharks.

287. The best areas in the Atlantic are considered to be the areas of Dakar (per hundred hooks up to 700 kg), Abidjan (300 kg), Gulf of Guinea (up to 400 kg), Angola (250-400 kg), and the Principe Islands (up to 300 kg).

288. Most often, along with tuna, the following sharks are found in tropical waters - blue, blacktip, longtip, silky, fox, and mako; in temperate waters these are herring, Pacific and Atlantic predators.

289. Most sharks are caught in the Atlantic: of the 200 species (15 families) present here, 26 species (11 families) are fished for.

290. The Indian Ocean accounts for a full third of the world's shark catches. 170 species live here (most of them are gray, spiny, feline). The epicenter of shark fishing in the Indian Ocean is its western part, accounting for over 90% of the total catch.

291. In Russia, shark fishing has been carried out since the 60s. The exceptions are the polar and spiny sharks. These are mainly bottom or coastal predators of shelves, as well as sharks inhabiting the open waters of the World Ocean.

292. Commercial fishing for bottom and coastal sharks (carpet, sand, cat, straight-mouthed, saw-nosed predators) is carried out using bottom trawls, nets of various configurations and hook gear.

293. Sharks in the open ocean are caught using pelagic longlines; here predators are not a direct target of fishing, and, as a rule, accompany commercial tuna fishing.

294. Among pelagic sharks, basking shark, herring shark, and rarely polar shark can be selected as a separate commercial fishery. These include species of lamnoid (great white shark), fox, hammerhead and straightmouth sharks.

295. The areas of Somalia, Madagascar, South Africa, Mozambique, the Chagos Archipelago, the Laccadive and Maldives, as well as the banks adjacent to Indonesia and the Nicobar Islands are considered to be developed and retaining the prospect of shark fishing in the Indian Ocean. The average catch per hundred hooks here is 200-450 kg, and the maximum is up to 700 kg.

296. Fishing for large pelagic sharks is carried out, as a rule, outside the boundaries of 320 km of economic zones. These predators can create numerous aggregations in the upper layers of the water, and in tuna longline fisheries, such sharks can even account for up to 90% of the total bycatch.

297. Harpoon cannons can still be used to catch giant sharks.

298. The salmon shark, like its older brother Carcharodon, can jump out of the water. In China and Japan, this predator is eaten fresh, raw.

299. Statistics indicate 6 million annual victims of sharks, which... Moreover, the catch of such predators on the surface of the ocean is much greater than in deep fishing.

300. In the waters of the Seychelles, “shark barkers” are still used to lure predators into the net. They are also called “sea sorcerers”, since these “magicians” actually attracted large predators to the fishermen by tapping their feet on the deck, clapping their hands, then along the side of the boat and on the surface of the water, and then with wild howls.

Watch video - A fisherman caught a huge mako shark:

The shark is a great example of a living creature that can adapt and survive in any of the most incredible conditions. Having appeared 400 million years ago, sharks outlived dinosaurs and pterodactyls, and have safely survived to our time, almost unchanged!

This is one of the fish you should pray you never encounter while enjoying your time in the water - facts about sharks!

1. Tiger sharks start fighting each other in the womb. The survivor is born.

The last one alive deserves the best prize - life!

2. Shark teeth are actually all different sizes, this is because they can grow and grow endlessly.

In fact, their teeth are all different sizes, which are constantly being renewed. These are the shark teeth that have contributed most to the study of prehistoric predators.

3. Interesting facts about sharks - Sharks have been around longer than trees. Sharks appeared 400 million years ago, while trees appeared 350 million years ago.

There are three more creatures that are older than trees: nautiluses, jellyfish, and horseshoe crabs.

4. Interesting facts about sharks - A male shark has 2 penises.

In fact, the organ is called clasper, which is similar to the penis.

5. In 2008, a shark gave birth without sex. This is the second recorded case of asexual reproduction in sharks.

A female hammerhead shark has become a single parent at a Nebraska zoo.

6. You are more likely to die from an icicle than from a shark attack.

Shark attacks don't happen as often as you think. Interesting Shark Facts - You are more likely to be attacked by a cow or a falling coconut than by a shark.

7. For every person killed in a shark attack, two million sharks were killed by humans. These are the facts about sharks.

The largest number of sharks were killed in Western Australia.

8. This is what it would be like if megalodon sharks were around us today.

God is merciful to us!

9. Interesting facts about sharks - Sharks are immune to almost all known diseases.

Thus, they are the only ones in their squad who never get sick.

10. A group of sharks call tremors.

You can also call it play, herd, madness or school.

11. A hammerhead shark can be made completely still for 15 minutes by turning it and tickling its tummy.

As with other sharks, shark attacks by humans must hit their most sensitive parts of the body: the eyes and gills.

12. The strangest thing ever found in a shark's stomach... is a porcupine.

Some other interesting facts about sharks - strange things in the stomach: polar bear, cannonball, armor, fur coat...

13. Like every person, a shark has its own distinctive character traits and personality - some sharks are shy, some are more social.

Their character may also depend on their specific habitat.

14. Interesting Shark Facts - Although illegal in China, consumption of shark fin soup is still legal in Australia.

This dish is a symbol of wealth and prestige.

15. Unlike most sharks, the great white shark is warm-blooded.

Great white sharks are included in the list of the most famous predators.

16. The United States won a court case against approximately 32 tons of shark fins.

More information about the controversial US case against 64,695 pounds of shark fin can be found here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Approximately_64,695_Pounds_of_Shark_Fins

17. Some sharks must swim constantly to survive.

Interesting Shark Facts - Some shark species do not have a swim bladder to keep them afloat.

18. The sense of smell is the most remarkable of the shark's senses.

Smaller species live on average 20-30 years.

These are the amazing facts about sharks!

Based on materials from bestpictureblog.com

They are creepy and amazing creatures at the same time. They are terrible and beautiful, frightening, but so interesting. They do not know how to distinguish between relatives and victims. They do not spare anyone on their way, they simply live their lives, and we must accept them as they are...

1. Sharks have teeth that grow throughout their lives.

Any average shark grows up to 7 rows of teeth. Since the mouth is the main weapon of a predator, nature made sure that its falling fangs are replaced with new ones. Thanks to this, sharks can change up to 30 thousand teeth over a lifetime.

2. Sharks don't have bones.

Paleontologists are confident that once the shark skeleton consisted of bones. Ancient finds also testify to this. But they are not present in the body of modern predators, and the skeleton is formed from cartilaginous tissue.

3. Sharks are born with soft heads.

This significantly facilitates the birth process and does not injure the bodies of predator mothers.

4. The Brazilian glowing shark is an esthete.

At the very least, she tears off the skin from the victim with a figured flap, leaving a wound on the body shaped like a cookie.

5. The struggle for survival among sharks begins in the womb.

While still embryos, baby sharks begin to compete. The kids devour each other. There should only be two left - one on each side of the uterus.

6. Sharks were on Earth long before dinosaurs.

Or rather, 200 million years before them. And it should be noted that during all this time the predators have changed slightly.

7. Predators prefer men.

Although approximately the same number of men and women swim in the ocean, representatives of the stronger sex suffer from shark teeth much more often.

8. A shark can eat anything.

What was found inside the shark's belly - shoes, chairs, boxes with tools and nails, drum kits, closed bottles of wine, pieces of horses O_o

9. Sharks attack shallow waters.

You don’t have to swim behind the buoys to run into a predator there. Approximately 2/3 of all attacks occur in shallow waters.

10. It’s not so easy to die from shark teeth.

Although attacks by predators are not uncommon, they do not lead to death very often. In most cases, sharks will injure their victims and release them. Unlike bees and lightning, which, according to statistics, cause human deaths much more often.

11. People pose a great danger to sharks.

For every human killed by a predator, hundreds of millions of sharks are killed.

12. Researchers do not rule out that shark cartilage can treat cancer.

Predators live a very long time and are quite resistant to this disease.

13. The largest white shark...

... caught near Phillip Island, Australia, weighed about 2.5 tons and was almost 6.5 meters long.

14. Sharks are adaptive creatures.

Although most species of predators can only live in salt water, blunt-nosed sharks are able to adapt to any conditions. Thanks to the special structure of their body, they can thrive in fresh water bodies.

15. Sharks must swim to breathe.

Because their body is not able to pump water in the gills on its own.

16. Sharks come in different sizes.

From 17 centimeters - a goblin shark - to 15 meters - a whale shark.

17. Marbled fish are the only ones that sharks cannot eat.

This happens because when attacked, marbled fish release a special substance. The latter causes the shark to spit out the victim. Now scientists are trying to learn how to make this chemical in the laboratory so that people can use it.

18. Arrows were made from shark teeth.

More precisely, arrowheads. Such weapons have been found in Native American burials. In addition, they used the predator's fangs to make jewelry.

19. Sharks have excellent hearing.

They can hear their victims from kilometers away.

20. Hearing is the strongest sense of sharks.

The rest are not very well developed.

21. Ancient sharks were real monsters.

Their mouths were so huge that a car or an entire tyrannosaurus could fit inside them.

22. Tiger sharks are the second largest sharks in the world.

And they also happen to be sea trash cans, because they eat everything they get in their way. One dead shark, for example, had the remains of a chicken coop in its stomach...

23. Shark eggs are the largest in the world.

Some sharks reproduce by laying eggs, which sometimes reach 35 centimeters in diameter.

24. Sacrifices were made to sharks.

Once upon a time, the islanders considered them gods and tried in every possible way to please the predators.

25. Sharks have very tough skin.

Hard and thick - in whale sharks, for example, the epidermis can reach 10 centimeters in thickness.