@gentlesharks / gentlesharks.tumblr.com
Shark finning infographic by ripetungi.
MANDATORY REBLOG
This sounds like a lot, but it’s true. An estimated 100,000,000 sharks per year are killed, threatening many species with endangerment or extinction.
Scary predators are important to the ecosystem, too. Conservation’s not just about the panda bears.
Do you know of any other cool extinct sharks that aren’t megolodons?
There is lots of prehistoric sharks, including some that haven’t even been discovered yet! Megalodon is the most commonly known prehistoric shark, but there are lots of others.
Just to name a few
Fun shark facts! Good for kids? Little “information visualization” animation I made as a uni work. Buy tired student a coffee?
A lot of arguments I get from people when talking about shark conservation is: “But wait, sharks attack and kill people all the time! They’re violent!” Nope. In fact, the average amount of shark attacks that happen a year is 16, with majority not even being fatal. Like all animals, sharks never attack without a reason.
Your chances of being attacked by a shark are just one in 11.5 million. It is easier to win the lottery, get struck by lightning, killed by a cow, killed by a falling coconut, or get killed by a vending machine than it is to get attacked by a shark.
Here’s a list of things that may cause a shark to check you out or attack you:
It’s said the best way to fend off an attacking shark is hitting it’s head with your fists. While this is one way, it’s not the most effective. Hit these areas instead
Looking at your gif set of the basking sharks, one had a dorsal fin that was kind of flopped to the side. Is that common among sharks, the shark seemed to be swimming along just fine.
Not much information about collapsed shark fins is out there, but flopped over fins could mean the fin has been out of water for a long period of time. Since Basking sharks spend most of their time feeding at the waters surface, their fin is out of the water lots. I think it’s something to do with water pressure. But it could also mean something to do with illness but I don’t know if this is true or not.
If anyone has information about this please share! I’m curious as well.
hey deb can sharks be gay
There has been multiple cases of parthenogenesis in female sharks over the years. Some examples: 1, 2, 3, 4
While this doesn’t necessarily mean the sharks are gay, they did manage to have babies without a male shark present.
There’s not many studies of sexuality in sharks, but there is studies and evidence that show female and male sharks form groups and/or friendships with other sharks of the same sex. This study on groups within communities of Blacktip reef sharks is very cool.
Until science gives us something to work with, there’s no harm in thinking some sharks are gay.
Blacktip reef sharks organize themselves into meaningful social groups and engage in relationships and teamwork with other sharks of the same sex and age.
A study published in 2012 by Animal Behaviour documents how one population of blacktip reef sharks is actually organized into four communities and two subcommunities. The research shows for the first time that adults of a reef-associated shark species form stable, long-term social bonds. The study was conducted at Moorea Island in the Society archipelago, French Polynesia by Johann Mourier, Julie Vercelloni, and Serge Planes. A total of seven sites were surveyed on a regular basis along just over 6 miles of the north shore of Moorea. The surveys included nearly hour-long dives at a depth close to 50 feet, with the diver photographing nearby sharks.
Analysis of the gathered data determined that the sharks were not within non-random collections, but rather had organized themselves into meaningful social groups. These communities and groups are formed for protection and to avoid aggression with each other. The study also showed that these groups work together as a team to catch prey and schools of fish.
Smallest kind of shark ever?
The Dwarf lanternshark is the smallest known shark in the world, reaching a maximum known length of 20 cm (7.9 in).
i saw this video of a shark that "farted" out some weird green gas and a bunch of fish came flocking towards it. what was that about?
The shark is pooping! The fish came flocking towards it because to them that is a bunch of free food with tons of nutrients in it.
The green shade of the poop comes from a combination of the breakdown of blood and muscle pigments in the sharks' food. The green-colored bile that does the breaking down, and the yellow pigment bilirubin, which comes from the breakdown of the shark's own red blood cells. The more you know, right?
Wait, hammerhead sharks can really see that good?? I thought most sharks had terrible eyesight and relied mainly on EM fields to "see"
In the late 1960s, researchers discovered that shark eyes have duplex retinas, or retinas containing both rod and cone cells. Rods enable the shark to see light and darkness, while cones allow for the detection of color (though scientists are still unsure how sharks interpret colors). The eye structure of a shark is similar to other vertebrates in that it contains a cornea, lens, retina, pupil and iris. Given their similar structure and usage, shark eyesight works similarly to that of humans.
Unlike humans, shark eyes are equipped with a tapetum lucidum, a layer of mirrored crystals located behind the retina. This provides a means for light that initially escaped detection to be detected as it is passed through the retina a second time. This process defocuses light, reducing acuity but increasing sensitivity. Such an adaptation enables sharks to see even in dark or murky water and up to ten times greater than humans in clear water. Whereas human eyes are adapted only for land and cannot see in the water, sharks have keen eyesight in the water and may even see out of water.
Is there a difference between a saw fish and a sawshark? They look pretty much the same don't they?
Sawsharks and sawfishes are cartilaginous fishes possessing large saws. However, sawfishes are not sharks, but a type of ray. The gill slits of the sawfishes are positioned on the underside like a ray, but the gill slits of the sawshark are positioned on the side like a shark. Another clear difference is that a sawfish has no barbels and a sawshark has a prominent pair halfway along the saw. The sawshark uses these like other bottom fish, as a kind of antennae, feeling the way along the ocean bottom until it finds some prey of interest.
whats the name of sharks who have like, a long scary mouth come out of their visible mouth when they are biting something? i love those guys but cant remember the name, if u understand what im talking about can you post something with them? (srry for my english) love your blog :)
I’m pretty sure you’re talking about the lovely Goblin shark! The protrusion of the jaw is assisted by two pairs of elastic ligaments associated with the mandibular joint, which are pulled taut when the jaws are in their normal retracted position; when the shark bites, the ligaments release their tension and essentially "catapult" the jaws forward.
please drop some rad megalodon facts my sweet dude
Reaching lengths of up to 60 feet and an estimated maximum weight of over 60 tons (that’s 20x as heavy as todays Great White), the Megalodon is the largest known predator in Earth’s history. The only existing marine animal that's larger is the blue whale, which can grow as big as 100 feet and weigh more than 150 tons.
While most adult Megalodon teeth fell into the 4-5” size range, a few massive, fossil teeth have been found in excess of 7”. The largest verifiable Megalodon tooth is a 7.48” tooth found near Ocucaje, Peru.
Contrary to popular belief, fossil evidence shows that the Megalodon is NOT in fact closely related to the Great White Shark.
Computer models estimate the Megalodon’s bite force between 24,000 to 40,000 pounds (10,900 to 18,100 kilograms), This is 6-10 times that of the Great White shark and modern crocodiles, This is also 2-3 times that of the estimated bite force of 12,800 pounds for T-Rex and the large Mosasaurs.
According to accounts dating back to the Renaissance, massive triangular teeth were often found buried in rocky mountains and were believed to be the fossilized tongues of dragons and snakes. It wasn’t until 1667 that they were recognized by Danish naturalist Nicolaus Steno as shark teeth.
Megalodon pups were born an estimated 2 to 4 meters in size (6.6.ft – 13.1ft) at birth.
There are three main theories on how Megalodon went extinct:
“Megalodon” originates from two Greek words — megas, signifying “big”, and odont, signifying “tooth”.
Before anyone gets too excited, we have a post here explaining how it’s not possible that Megalodon is still alive,
o k weird question but do sharks fart
Given that many aquatic creatures have digestive systems that have to cope with fast-food intake, I’d say that farting, as we know it, would be unlikely.
The fart, per se, is usually caused by the production of gaseous products of the fermentation of organic food material - especially complex carbohydrates - during digestion. In mammals, the alimentary canal is relatively long compared to a shark’s and in ruminants, the food is often stored at different stages of digestion, in pockets of the stomach. This gives ample time for fermentation to occur. There is also a high concentration of organic material in the alimentary canal of these creatures, including humans.
In sharks, the through-put of fluid in the alimentary canal is comparatively copious and fast in a digestive system where simple proteins are the main food material - not complex carbohydrates. This difference means that the production of gases in the alimentary canal of a shark is unlikely. Sharks do not have a swim bladder that captures air to assist with buoyancy, as many large fish do. Production of gas in the alimentary canal would probably have a deleterious effect on the shark’s navigational control. The digestive process in sharks is likely to have evolved to minimize the production of gaseous products in their alimentary canal.
Megamouths are common victims of cookiecutter sharks due to their slow movement speed and similar migration patterns.
What is a hammerhead shark's field of vision like?
The T-shaped hammerhead configuration allows the sharks to see 360 degrees.Not only does it have front, back and side vision, it can also see vertically and judge depths. The hammerhead has one of the best senses of sight in the animal kingdom
