Sharks are also fish
Very active predator
Adapted to hunt.
Sharks have strong bodies
Skeleton of cartilage
Not a bone at all.
Thrived as predators
Have unique adaptations
Body very light.
Because of light weight
Faster and more flexible
Millions of years.
Lacks a swim bladder
Buoyant from oil-filled livers
Also wing-like fins.
Dermal tenticles
Tiny tooth-like scales, no drag
Quiet, effective
Grow replacement teeth
Thirty thousand per lifetime
New rows replace old.
Electroreceive
Ampullae / Lorenzini
Small pores on their snouts.
Sharks can detect the
Minute electrical fields
Prey's muscle movements.
Some sharks do lay eggs
(Oviparity); Live young,
(Viviparity).
Hatch internal eggs
(Ovoviviparity)
Sharks' other method.
Fourfifty mil years
Sharks predated dinosaurs
Five mass extinctions.
Great White, higher temp
(Regional Endothermy)
Warmer than water.
The Great White, having
Regional Endothermy
Hunts--colder water.
Slow life history
Decade to maturity
Produce few offspring.
Because few offspring
Sharks highly vulnerable
To overfishing.
Apex predators
Essential for balance
Prey--healthy, diverse.
Shark conservation
Meat considered low value
Often discarded.
Fins are worth a lot
Asian shark fin soup market
Just cut off the fins.
After fins taken
Cut from shark's living body
Carcass is thrown back.