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shark will never stop amazing us — from mysterious and massivewhale sharksto intimidating and impressivegreat whites . Evensharksthat do n’t exist any longer , like the mammothmegalodon , never cease to astonish . We know you love shark just as much as we do , so here are 20 awesome things we have learned about sharks .
1. Some sharks can get really, really old
suppose a shark that was swim the seas when the Pope curse Martin Luther and the Ming Dynasty was going strong . That might just be theGreenland shark(Somniosus microcephaly ) , an Arctic dweller that can survive centuries — perhaps close to 500 days .
Researchers account in 2016 in the journal Science that they had tested the middle tissues of these strange shark and found that they were century old . The method was n’t perfectly precise , so the accurate age cooking stove came to between 271 and 512 age old . Even at the low destruction , that makes them the longest - lived beast with a backbone . lilliputian is known about the shark ’s biology or lifestyle .
show more : Greenland shark may dwell 400 eld
Aren’t sharks jawsome?
2. Sharks caught doing the ‘pipi’ dance
Who knew shark could dance ? OK , well , these shark were n’t really dancing , but they were certainly busting some kind of move .
A group of 20 tawny sharks were catch on video as they wiggled around in the surf on a beach in Australia . The shark were n’t in suffering ; they were just using their physical structure to stir up some tasty bread known as pipis ( Paphies australis , the name " pipi " comes from the Māori words ) , which were swallow up in the wet guts .
Read more : Why are these shark doing the ' pipi ' dance ?
A whale shark vertebra from Pakistan, in cross section, showing 50 growth bands.
3. Nuclear bombs can help age sharks
Whale sharks are the largest Pisces the Fishes in the sea , but there ’s still a draw scientists do n’t know about the tremendous creatures , including how long they be . However , research write this year trace how radioactive atomic number 6 left over from Cold War - era atomic warhead could help resolve this mystery .
research worker datedcarbon-14 — a naturally - occurring type of radioactive carbon that was discharge into the skyen masseduring atomic weapons trial run in the 1950s and sixties — embedded in the vertebra of two whale shark that pall long ago in fishing lucre in Taiwan and Pakistan . The scientist confirmed the ages of the two beat sharks were 35 and 50 years onetime , respectively , which suit in with prior estimates that whale shark can live incredibly long life story — likely upwards of 100 year .
Read more : Nuclear bomb could bring out how old whale sharks really are
4. Great white sharks are bottom-feeders (for at least part of their lives)
Great clean sharksare cruel hunters — except when they ’re not .
After read the stomach subject matter of 40 clean sharks in Australia , investigator reported that puerile white-hot sharks spend a significant amount of time moil around for well-situated morsels of food on the seafloor rather than hunting for a more satisfying repast . The piddling predators do n’t start hunting big prey until the shark are around 7.2 foot ( 2.2 . m ) in length .
There was also some evidence that the male sharks pass after stingrays and their cousin-german more often than distaff shark did ; but the researchers noted that there was a middling small sampling size of it from which to make this claim .
A whale shark vertebra from Pakistan, in cross section, showing 50 growth bands.
take more : expectant white sharks are bottom - feeders , at least when they ’re little
5. Shark attacks are (still) rare
A droning captured video of the minute when a white shark was within arm ’s reach of a surfer in Australia . The surfer was wholly unaware of the propinquity of the shark and only found out how closelipped the 5 - groundwork - long ( 1.6 m ) marauder was after float to shore and watching the drone footage . Fortunately , the shark swam away and no one was hurt .
Read more : Drone warns surfer of very stuffy meeting with 5 - foot shark in Australia
6. A ‘naked’ shark?
A shark gestate without hide or tooth was somehow living without trouble until fishers trawl the Mediterranean Sea south of Sardinia , Italy , accidentally pull out the mutant Pisces from the depth . The startling creature was a blackmouth catshark ( Galeus melastomus ) that lackedskinand teeth .
The rare catch is the first and only be intimate event of a shark living with a " life-threatening want of all hide - come to structure [ include ] dentition , " according to a written report bring out in theJournal of Fish Biology .
Read more:‘Naked ' shark was tolerate without peel or teeth in world first
Juvenile great whites spend a good portion of time munching on easy sources of food found on the seafloor.
7. Megalodon was even more of a behemoth than we thought
Sure , megalodon was the biggest shark to ever live , but we ’re not talk just a few feet longer than the with child great white . Megalodonwas so monolithic — about as long as a bowling lane at 50 feet ( 15 K ) — that scientist look at the giant to be " off the shell , " fit in to a raw subject field bring out this year .
grounds from nonextant and livelihood sharks revealed that not only was megalodon an extreme outlier when compare with modern species ; it was also considerably great than the next - biggest extinct shark in its ordering by at least 23 feet ( 7 m ) , the scientist reported .
scan more : Megalodon ’s hugeness was ' off the ordered series ' — even for a shark
A drone caught a close encounter between a surfer and a shark in Australia.
8. But great whites are still enormous
Yes , megalodon was a goliath , but expectant clean shark are no pipsqueaks — especially one individual scientists are calling the " pouf of the ocean . "
Researchers with Ocearch caught and label a great white female this year that measured 17 foot ( 5 m ) long and weighed 3,541 lbs . ( 1,606 kilograms ) . The scientists estimate the shark is around 50 years honest-to-goodness , and her battle - marred skin is clear evidence that this sinewy madam has ascertain some thing her lifetime .
scan more : Scientists discover great white shark ' queen of the sea '
A closeup of the skinless shark’s body and toothless mouth.
Giving the faggot a streamlet for her money is another tremendous great clean shark spotted in Key Largo this free fall . The 15.4 - foot - long ( 4.7 m ) shark make out as " Unama’ki " is also traverse by Ocearch and was first tagged in Nova Scotia . This big mammary gland weighs 2,076 pound . ( 942 kilogram ) and is also estimated to be about 50 age sure-enough .
record more : Massive capital lily-white shark Unama’ki distinguish south of Miami
9. Ancient megatooth sharks were nurturing parents
Although extinct megatooth shark were monstrous predators , they were also nurturing parents as they raise their untested in the safety of a " glasshouse . "
research worker find ancient evidence of a shark nursery in what is now South Carolina . The squad dug up dozens of fossilized tooth that once belonged toCarcharocles angustidens , a megatoothed shark that lived during theOligocene epoch(34 million to 23 million years ago ) . The sizing of most of the teeth suggest they come from juvenile sharks , which entail the area was likely a dependable haven , or nursery , where the youthful ocean marauder could drown in calm waters filled with well-off - to - catch quarry .
scan more:24 million - class - old nursery for baby megasharks chance upon in South Carolina
Gigantism was common in extinct lamniform sharks — the group that includes megalodon — but megalodon was the biggest by far.
Another chemical group of scientist found fogy evidence of at least five more megalodon baby’s room in Spain , which suggests that baby shark nurseries were a unwashed rearing manoeuvre for the metal money . It also raises the possibility that the decline of uncommitted glasshouse website may have contributed to the elephantine shark ’s defunctness .
learn more : Megalodon greenhouse let on public ’s largest shark had a soft side
10. An innocent-looking shark with a hidden weapon
This class , scientist strike an adorable , wide - eyed prehistorical shark with a secret set of terrorize chompers .
The antecedently undescribed species , namedFerromirum oukherbouchi , had a jaw that spread out in when the mouth was close , and outwards when the mouth was open . When the shark opened its sassing , cartilage at the back of the jaw deform so that the side of the jaw " fold " down and all teeth , including the newfangled teeth growing in the back , rotated upwards , earmark the shark to burn into its prey with as many tooth as potential .
Not something you want to see lunging after you in the water , is it ?
This huge great white shark, named Nukumi, is probably about 50 years old. She was discovered off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Read more : all-encompassing - eyed prehistoric shark blot out its sharp tooth in nightmare jaws
11. Even sharks win some, lose some
Thresher sharks are aggressive predatory animal , but they ca n’t win every fight . Beachgoers on the Mediterranean coast of Libya found a beat thresher shark with a large chunk of a Xiphias gladius ’s " blade " jabbed into its back . No one saw the actual attack , so it ’s ill-defined why the swordfish jabbed and kill the shark . But researchers suspect the two sea vulture may have been vie for prey .
Read more : Whodunit solve when ' steel ' is encounter embedded in thresher shark shark
On the other side of the creation , undersea photographer Deron Verbeck snap a noteworthy photo of a battle - marred pelagic whitetip shark ( Carcharhinus longimanusI ) off the coast of Hawaii earlier this year . The unusual orbitual design of scars and puncture wounds on the shark ’s skin led investigator to suspect the shark had been in a fight with a giant squid ( Architeuthis duxI ) — elusive deep - sea predators that live hundreds of feet below the open . pelagic white bakshis shark can plunge down to 1,000 metrical foot ( 300 m ) in lookup of prey , so it ’s likely this shark picked a combat with a deep - ocean cephalopod that was not in the modality .
Megalodon, the biggest predatory shark of all time, watched over its young as many modern sharks do — by raising them in defined geographic areas known as nurseries.
take more : Mysterious cicatrice on Hawaiian shark could be sign of giant squid attempt
12. Shark attacks have a long history
Shark attack are strange ( only 57 unprovoked bites were reported in 2020 ) , but they ’re not novel . A 3,000 - year - old skeleton unearthed in western Japan apparently belong to the dupe of a nasty shark fire .
Theskeletonhad 790 separate injuries , including many Phoebe - regulate notch that equalize the marks of a shark ’s dentition on os . The gentleman’s gentleman was also missing his unexpended manus and right leg when he was buried , and his left stage was arranged in his grave the wrong room around . The terms suggests that the man was alive when he was assail and that sharks had time to feed on his body for at least a while before he was regain from the sea .
Read more : Oldest - cognize shark attack discovered in 3,000 - class - honest-to-god skeleton with 800 accidental injury
Illustration of the prehistoric sharkFerromirum oukherbouchi.
13. Sharks nearly wiped out 19 million years ago
shark have been trolling the oceans for an fabulously long metre : They evolved at least 450 million twelvemonth ago , making them onetime , as a group , than tree .
You do n’t get through 450 million years without some harsh patches . And research published in 2021 found that about 19 million years ago , the universe nearly said goodbye to sharks . In just 100,000 year or less , 90 % of shark disappeared from the sea . Between 70 % and 90 % of shark species were fall behind . No one do it what befall or why sharks abruptly look such a struggle .
register more : secret event nearly pass over out shark 19 million years ago
A swordfish (Xiphias gladius) left part of its “sword” sticking out of the shark it killed.
Originally published on Live Science .
14. Some sharks are pocket-size
OK , everyone bed that not every shark is a behemoth . But did you know that sharks can be pouch - size and dead endearing ?
The pouch sharkMollisquama mississippiensiswas declared a new species in 2019 after earlier being chance upon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2015 . The bantam shark — it ’s only 5.5 inches ( 14 cm ) long — looks a bit like a miniature sperm whale , with a blunt , rounded nozzle . Only two pocket sharks have ever been caught , resurrect doubt about how many more small , quiet shark species call the Gulf of Mexico home .
Read more : Adorable Shark Fits in Your Hand , expect Like a Mini Sperm Whale
15. Ancient sharks were really strange
A Cretaceous shark that hold out 93 million years ago playact more like a manta shaft than a shark . Aquilolamna milarcaeexisted before manta rays evolve , but it had broad , swooping fins that looked almost like wings . researcher who identified the fogey from quarry stone institute in Mexico guess the ancient shark was a plankton - eating filter - feeder that cruise at a stately stride through the Western Interior Seaway , a trunk of water that once covered much of what is now Mexico and the center of North America .
The shark still remains a bit of an evolutionary mystery , because none of its tooth were preserved . That gain it difficult to range the species within the tree of shark diversity . This strange shark probably went nonextant at the end of the Cretaceous when an tremendous asteroid slammed into what is now the Yucatán Peninsula .
Read more:‘Winged ' eagle shark soared through the oceans 93 million years ago
16. Sharks eat their siblings … in the womb
It ’s not sluttish being a baby shark . For one affair , your siblings will seek to eat you .
biologist have known for decades that shark fetuses will cannibalize each other in the uterus — no brotherly love here . Shark mothers can stack away up sperm from multiple mating events and fertilize their eggs over time , so they frequently have a womb full of half - sib . In sand tiger sharks ( Carcharias taurus ) , the babies of one father be given to dominate those from another father over fourth dimension , a fashion that males apparently compete tofather the most offspringwell after mating occurs .
babe sharks will even swim from one womb to another ( shark have two uteruses ) in search of a meal . A 2018 study found that tawny nanny shark babies wiggle between uteruses and sometimes even poke their heads out of their mother ’s cervix before they ’re quick to be born .
study more : These Baby Sharks Swim from One Uterus to Another to Eat Their Unfertilized Siblings
17. Shark gets stabbed to death
Not often do humans get a coup d’oeil at a shark battle , especially one where the top predator ends up with a blade in its caput . That ’s exactly what beachgoers witnessed in February of 2021 when a juvenile shortfin mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus ) washed up in Los Cabos , Mexico . The " sword " was still embedded in the beat shark ’s head . But who or what was the culprit ? After canvass images of the stabbed mako , Christopher Lowe , a prof of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University , Long Beach , said the brand could have do from a marlin , sailfish or stingray .
One potential scenario go like this : Scientists have it off that adult makos prey on animals with " swords . " And perhaps , this juvenile shark try on to nab such a meal but was unsuccessful . " This one was a young one — probably inexperient and trying to take on prey that it was n’t really quick for , " Lowe antecedently told Live Science .
Read more : Shark gets stabbed in the head , wash ashore in Los Cabos
18. Feeding frenzy ends badly for this shark
An sea eating hysteria work deadly for one of the diners some 1,476 feet ( 450 meters ) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in June 2019 . About 11 dogfish sharks were devour a 250 - pound ( 110 kilogram ) stiff of a swordfish . picayune did they know , a wreckfish , which is a type of grouper , was waiting in the wing for its own supper . While the sharks were distracted , filling their bellies , it seems the giant wreckfish pounce in and gulped one down .
Post - meal , the wreckfish — with the shark ’s tail sticking out of its mouth — inched in front of a camera on a outback rover called Deep Discoverer . The remotely function fomite was in the area explore for a World War II shipwreck ; when the scientist saw the footage , one of them is get word saying : " Oh my god — I ’m move to remember this my whole life . "
Read more : Feeding fury of 11 shark ends in surprising twist
A series of ultrasound images shows a shark embryo swimming from one uterus to another.
19. Great white sharks have some serious pregnancies
Fourteen bouncing babe white sharks . That ’s what one mamagreat whitewas expect when she was unintentionally catch near Taiwan in 2018 .
The 15 - animal foot - long ( 14.7 metre ) shark was a disk - breaker . Detecting pregnant shark is rare , and the previous known record for a fraught great white ( Carcharodon carcharias ) was 12 pup , David Ebert , a shark scientist and the director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Moss Landing , California , order Live Science at the sentence .
dandy white shark maternity and maternity are still quite mysterious , but pups credibly take about 12 months to originate and are born alive and ready to start hunting .
Read more : tremendous great bloodless shark meaning with record 14 puppy was get and sold in Taiwan
20. Sharks can choke to death
In the battle of great bloodless shark versus turtle , the turtles usually win . Sea turtle shells are solid protective cover against even great white shark , and sea turtle know to turn sideway when approached by a lily-white shark so it ’s gruelling for the predator to get a grip on them . In one incident witnessed by a Nipponese fisherman in 2019 , though , a shark managed to get a purchase — but the turtle got its retaliation . After getting the turtle lodged in its throat , the shark choked and die .
Read more : enceinte white shark chomp down on sea turtle , chokes to death
Female great white shark swimming with a school of trevally jacks surrounding it’s tail, North Neptune Islands, South Australia.
