Facts About Sharks

chapter 5

Shark Facts #59. Even though sharks have rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth, they don't use their pearly whites to chew their prey. Shark teeth are strictly for snapping, grip, crush or rip, and the resulting chunks are swallowed whole.

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Shark Facts #58. Contrary to popular belief, sharks aren't color blind. Divers have claimed for years that sharks are attracted to certain colors, such as the "yummy yellow" of some wetsuits. While color preference hasn't been proven, scientists know that some sharks that live in well-lit environments have developed cones cells that are just like the ones humans use to distinguish colors.
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Shark Facts #57. The prehistoric shark Megalodon probably grew to 60 feet (18 meters), and it's popularized today as the largest shark ever to exist. However, there was another plated fish called the Dunkleosteus, which, though not a shark, weighed in at around 4 tons. If they'd lived during the same era, Dunkleosteus could have proved to be a deadly match for the Megaladon.

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Shark Facts #56. Sharks' skeletons are made entirely of cartilage, an elastic tissue that is much softer than bones. When a shark dies, salt from the ocean water completely dissolves its skeleton, leaving only the shark's teeth behind.
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Shark Facts #55. Galeophobia is the excessive fear of sharks. It comes from the Greek word "galeos," which was a particular type of shark.
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Shark Facts #54. Be glad you're not a shark, moms! The gestation period for a pregnant female shark can range anywhere from five months to two years.
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Shark Facts #53. Sharks can generate up to 40,000 pounds per square inch of pressure in a single bite. But even great white sharks don't bite that much harder than humans do.
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Shark Facts #52. Unfortunately due to overfishing and shark finning, some population of certain shark species have been hunted down by approximately 90%.
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Shark Facts #51. Sharks' eyes are on the sides of their heads, so they have an amazingly wide sightline spanning nearly 360 degrees. Their panoramic view of the undersea world is inhibited only by two blind spots, one in front of the snout and the other directly behind the head.
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Shark Facts #50. Great hammerhead sharks are nomadic and have been known to roam all the way from the coasts of Florida to polar regions. This aquatic globetrotting lets them take advantage of rising and falling water temperatures.