Facts About Sharks

chapter 8

Shark Facts #29. You can't see a shark's ears, but that doesn't stop it from being able to hear you from more than two football fields away. That's because sharks only have inner ears, which they use to track the sound of their prey from lengths of more than 800 feet (244 meters). See video at shark fact #30
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Shark Facts #28. If you're watching a circling shark and wondering if it's about to attack its prey, here are the clues: The shark will hunch its back, lower its pectoral fins (the ones near its belly) and swim in zigzag motions.
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Shark Facts #27. Unlike humans, whose upper jaw is a fixed part of the skull, a shark can dislocate and protrude its upper jaw to help it grab and hang onto prey.
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Shark Facts #26. Jaws wasn't the first time sharks have been given a bad rap. Ancient Greek historian Herodotus claimed that a group of sharks destroyed a Persian fleet in the 5th century B.C., which may have been the first time sharks were tagged with a negative and killer reputation.
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Shark Facts #25. Sharks have an astounding sense of smell, so powerful that they can detect a single drop of blood in an Olympic-sized pool. See video at shark fact #30
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Shark Facts #24. Different species of sharks have their own set of etiquette during a feeding frenzy, a rare occurrence when a large group of sharks all go after the same prey. Caribbean reef sharks, for example, follow a distinct pecking order in which the biggest shark eats first.
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Shark Facts #23. Sharks can see in murky water because of a special feature that makes their eyes more sensitive to light. A membrane in the back of the eye called the tapetum lucidum reflects sunlight back into the eye, so the shark can make more use of what little light is there. See video at shark fact #30
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Shark Facts #22. Volusia County has more shark attacks than anywhere else in the world. These waters have seen 210 attacks since 1882. However 90% of these attacks were just bites with very low number of fatalities, so they don't keep die-hard surfers and swimmers away.
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Shark Facts #21. Great white sharks are picky eaters. Their diet requires lots of fat, and after one bite a great white shark can determine whether or not the meal will satisfy its nutritional needs. If it doesn't, the shark will leave the rest and swim away.

Shark Facts #20. The megamouth shark wasn't discovered by scientists until 1976, and there have only been 41 known sightings of the species. Like whale sharks, the megamouths are filter-feeders and have huge jaws that extend past their eyes.