Shark: The Ocean’s Ancient Plunderer
Introduction:
There is simply no creature as enthralling as sharks. These captive creatures have lived in our oceans for over 400 million years, longer than dinosaurs stayed on land. They come in various sizes and shapes, from dwarf lantern sharks to whales, which are the largest. In this regard, they act as apex predators within marine ecosystems by virtue of their exceptional hunting skills and strong adaptability. However, humans’ activities such as overfishing, finning, and habitat destruction, among others, present significant major threats that pose dangers to them.
Amazing Facts:
- Age: It is evitable that since these animals have survived through five mass extinctions, they must have been around for more than 400 million years.
- Cartilaginous Skeletopons: This allows them to be lighter and more flexible, unlike other fish whose cartilage makes their bones.
- Electroreception: They can also detect electric fields generated by other living organisms with their Lorenzini ampullae organs.
- Sharks have replacement teeth. They can grow new rows of teeth throughout their lifetime if they lose thousands of them.
- The largest fish in the world: The biggest known species of fish is the whale, which is 40 feet long.
- Fast swimmers: They like shortfin mako are fast swimmers, reaching speeds as high as 45 miles per hour.
- Range in Sizes: They come in different sizes, ranging from the dwarf lantern sharks, which measure eight inches, to whale sharks that are huge.
- A must-have for ecosystems: They play a critical role in marine life by acting as keystone predators that help control prey populations and maintain balance.
Habitat and Diet:
Habitat:
These range from the shallow coastal areas to deep seas, where there are various types:
- Coastal Waters: You will find some of their most commonly encountered kinds, such as Tiger and bull sharks, both of which are typical shoreline predators around this coastline.
- Open ocean: Also known as pelagic zone, has blue and great white sharks, among others.
- Deep Sea: Examples include goblin sharks and frilled ones that exist down these dark places.
Diet:
They are carnivores, and their diets vary depending on the species.
- Large predators: Seals, fish, or even sea turtles are the primary food for the Great White and the Tiger sharks.
- Filter feeders: They feed on plankton and small fish like whales and basking sharks.
- Bottom dwellers: Mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish eaten by nurse sharks as well as angel sharks.
- Opportunistic feeders: Some of their species only eat dead animals.
Appearence:
Despite the fact they look different due to physical characteristics, there are similarities among all of their species:
- Streamlined body: Minimised water resistance since they have streamlined bodies that allow them to move through water quickly; this makes them appear as torpedoes.
- Fins: There are a number of fins, such as dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic ones, that enable them to balance themselves or move.
- Teeth: Note that their teeth of the same kind differ from one another. For example, serrated teeth can be found in great white sharks, which are mainly used for tearing flesh, while tiger shark’s teeth have sharp edges with serrations to enable them to break open shells.
- Gills: Gill slits are characterised by five or seven pairs below the head region.
- Eyes: They have extremely good sight, and it works even when they are in deep dark waters of oceans.
Types/Subspecies of Them:
These are some different species with their respective ways:
- Great White Shark: This sea creature is one of the most terrifying on earth due to its huge size and amazing strength.
- Hammerhead: They have distinguishing heads from other sets, which make them more aware of their surrounding area.
- Tiger Shark: It feeds on almost everything except a few elements here and there.
- Whales: It is not only the largest fish but also the biggest known shark. They feed on plankton.
- Bull Shark: They are known for their ability to tolerate freshwater environments.
- Blue Shark: Swift-moving oceanic species with a back of cobalt blue colour.
- Goblin Shark: This alien-looking sea creature has an elongated snout that differentiates it from others.
Predators and Threats:
Natural Predators:
Although they are at the top of the marine food chain, sometimes bigger or older ones get eaten by;
- Killer Whales: Sometimes great whites are eaten by killer Whales.
- Others: They swallow little fish whole on many occasions when they are still young ones.
Threats:
- Overfishing: These species, along with others being targeted for commercial fishing purposes, have been trapped.
- Finning: There have been a number of shark populations lost to finning for soup.
- Pollution: For example, waste plastics, oil spills, and chemical run-offs through waterways can pose threats to their habitats.
- Climate Change: Changes in ocean temperatures as well as acidification have disrupted ecological roles played by them.
- Habitat Destruction: The shrinking areas inhabited by them due to coastal developments and destruction of coral reefs
Mating and Reproduction:
Reproduction Methods:
They are different from other fish because they have different ways of reproducing:
- Oviparous: For example, horn sharks lay eggs in sacs sometimes.
- Viviparous: Some give birth to live offspring (e.g., hammerhead).
- Ovoviviparous: After hatching is completed inside the mother, Tiger sharks, for instance, give birth.
Mating Behaviour:
- Females bite males since their skins are tough enough to take on such bites
Gestation Periods:
- Some species of them can stay pregnant for several months or even over two years before parturition in this period.
- The danger is that these animals give a small number of young ones, which makes them vulnerable to population decline.
How do they communicate?
Certainly, they don’t speak with words like you and I but here are few examples:
- Body language: Aggression or submission may be displayed through body postures, fin movements, or swimming behaviours.
- Electric sense: They feel electric signals given off by other fish or prey.
- Smell trails: They possess a very good smelling sense, which helps in locating surrounding things.
Movies Featuring Them:
- Jaws (1975): A classic thriller showcasing a giant white shark that devours people while terrorising a seaside city.
- Deep Blue Sea (1999): In this science fiction horror movie, highly evolved sharks go on a rampage in a submerged lab.
- The Meg (2018): A terrifying megalodon shark that dates back to prehistoric times is uncovered and subsequently becomes a lethal danger.
- Sharknado (2013): A cheesy disaster movie that includes them that fly through tornadoes and lift to eat everything in sight.
- 47 Meters Down (2017): Two siblings find themselves locked in their cage at the ocean’s bottom, where deadly sharks lurk around.
How would you pronounce it?
- English:/ʃɑːrk/
- Spanish: Tiburón (Tee-boo-rohn)
- French: Requin (Reh-kahn)
- German: Hai (I)
- Mandarin: 鲨鱼 (Shā yú)
FAQs:
Q: Are they dangerous to humans?
A: Actually, most of them do not pose a danger for people. Misidentification is usually the main cause of human attacks.
Q: What is the average lifespan of them?
A: However, other ones, like the Greenland and Bowhead Species, live much longer.
Q: Why don’t they ever stop swimming?
A: Some of them keep on swimming so that they have water directed through their gills for breathing purposes alone.
Q: In what ways can we help to conserve them?
A: For example, you can become an advocate of sustainable fishing techniques while at the same time minimising your use of plastic, among other things. Are we aware of this topic being researched?