ANGEL SHARK:
BLUE SHARK:
HAMMERHEAD SHARK:
NURSE SHARK:
Photo by Yvonne
WOBBEGONG SHARK:
- flat body like a stingray -- you can tell the shark is not a ray because the pectoral fins are not attached to the head.
- They bury themselves in the sand or mud with only the eyes and part of the top of the body exposed.
- They are bottom feeders, eating crustaceans like clams and mollusks and fish that are swimming close to the ocean floor
- second largest shark (about 30 feet long and 8,000 pounds)
- filters plankton from the water using "gill rakers"
- does well in captivity so is often found in aquariums (which is why we have so many photos of it)
- about 6 feet long.
- grey with a black tip on its fins and white streak on its side
BLUE SHARK:
- about 12 feet long.
- sleek, tapered body
- among the fastest swimming sharks and can even leap out of the water
- diet consists mostly of squid, but it will eat almost anything
- considered dangerous - have attacked people
- third most dangerous to people
- can swim in salt and fresh water and have even been found in the Mississipi river.
- a small shark (less than 2 feet long)
- eats perfecty round chunks out of living whales and dolphins by clamping its teeth extremely sharp teeth onto them.
- very uncommon and likely the strangest looking shark (rarely seen)
- pale, pinkish grey skin with a long pointed snout (it looks a bit like a sword on top of its head)
- lives in very deep water.
- found off the coast of Japan in 1898... until that time it was believed to have been extinct for 100 million years
- more attacks on people than any other type.
- averages 12 feet long and 3,000 pounds.
- unlike most sharks, it can lift its head out of the water.
HAMMERHEAD SHARK:
- unlikely to attack people, but considered dangerous due to its predatory nature and its size
- eyes and nostrils are far apart, giving it a "hammerhead" appearance and allowing the shark to extend the range of its senses.
- fastest swimmer (43 miles per hour)
- known to leap out of the water (sometimes into boats)
NURSE SHARK:
- bottom dwelling shark
- thin, fleshy, whisker-like organs on the lower jaw in front of the nostrils that they use to touch and taste
- hunt at night, sleep by day
- common at aquariums
- the sandtiger shark has very pointed teeth -- the better to eat you with (if you're a fish!)
- 10 feet long
- predator (carnivore)
- nocturnal (hunts mostly at night)
- Babies: The mother shark has two uterus. Many sharks begin in the uterus, but the strongest one in each uterus eats all the others before they are born.
- the most abundant shark
- 3 to 4 feet long
- slightly poisonous spines (not very harmful to people)
- used by people for food and research.
- 10 foot tail (1/2 as long as the body) which it uses to herd small fish
- second most attacks on people
- eat anything! (have been found with boat cushions and alarm clocks in their stomachs)
- biggest shark and biggest fish
- it isn't a whale (whales are mammals, not fish)
- grow to 45 feet long and 30,000 pounds, but average about 25 feet long
- filters plankton from the water using "gill rakers"
- probably the most common shark encountered by divers and snorkelers on tropical reefs
- about 3 feet long on average though it can be as big as 6 feet.
- dark grey with a white tip on the first and sometimes on the second dorsal fin as well as the tail lobes
Photo by Yvonne
WOBBEGONG SHARK:
- about 8 feet long, but virtually harmless.
- lives in Australia and Pacific coastal reefs
- lies on the bottom of the ocean waiting for fish to come near.
- filters food into its mouth with worm-like projections on its head
- razor-like teeth
- yellow, brown and gray camouflage colouring.
- small, gentle shark that can be kept in an aquarium with other fish
- tail is half its length
_60. Humans are the shark's biggest predator, but killer whales,
crocodiles and seals have been known to eat sharks as well. Large sharks
will even go after smaller, younger sharks that might make easy prey.
(Learn more about shark diets.)
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 ripping, and the resulting chunks are swallowed whole.
(Find out what sharks eat.)
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. (Does light attract sharks?)
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. (Go back in time to prehistoric sharks.)
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. (Learn more about shark teeth.)
55. Galeophobia is the excessive fear of sharks. It comes from the Greek word "galeos," which was a particular type of shark. (Are dogs a shark's favorite meal?)
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.
(More about shark pups.)
53. Sharks can generate up to 40,000 pounds per square inch of
pressure in a single bite. That's easily enough to chomp a meaty limb
right off. (Find out how shark attack
The frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is one of two
extant species of shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae, with a wide but patchy
distribution in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This uncommon species is found
over the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, generally near the bottom
though there is evidence of substantial upward movements. It has been caught as
deep as 1,570 m (5,150 ft), whereas in Suruga Bay, Japan it is most common at depths of 50–200 m
(160–660 ft). Exhibiting several "primitive" features, the frilled shark has
often been termed a "living fossil". It reaches a length of 2 m (6.6
ft) and has a dark brown, eel-like body with the dorsal, pelvic, and anal
fins placed far back. Its common name comes from the frilly or fringed
appearance of the gill slits, of which there are six pairs with the
first pair meeting across the throat. Seldom observed, the frilled shark is speculated to capture its prey by
bending its body and lunging forward like a snake. The long, extremely flexible
jaws enable it to swallow large prey whole, while the many rows of small,
needle-like teeth prevent escape. It feeds mainly on cephalopods, while also consuming bony
fishes and other sharks. This species is aplacental viviparous: the embryos emerge from their egg
capsules inside the mother's uterus, and are sustained to term primarily by yolk. The gestation period may be as long as three and a
half years, the longest of any vertebrate. Between 2 and 15 young are born at a
time; there is no distinct breeding season. Frilled sharks are occasionally
captured as bycatch by commercial fisheries but have little economic
value. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) has assessed it as Near Threatened, since given its very low
reproductive rate even incidental catches may deplete its population. This
shark, or a supposed giant relative, has been suggested as a source for reports
of sea
serpents.
Contents [hide]
- 1 Taxonomy and phylogeny
- 2 Distribution and habitat
- 3 Description
- 4 Biology and ecology
- 5 Human
interactions - 6 References
- 7 External
links
[edit] Taxonomy and phylogeny
Garman's illustration of the frilled shark,
accompanying his 1884 species description.
The frilled shark was first scientifically recognized by German ichthyologist Ludwig Döderlein, who visited Japan
between 1879 and 1881 and brought two specimens to Vienna. However, his manuscript describing the
species was lost, and so the first description of the frill shark became
authored by American zoologist Samuel Garman, working from a 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long
female caught from Sagami Bay in Japan. His account, entitled "An
Extraordinary Shark", was published in an 1884 volume of Proceedings of the
Essex Institute.[2][3] Garman
placed the new species in its own genus and family, and gave it the name
Chlamydoselachus anguineus from the Greek chlamy ("frill") and selachus
("shark"), and the Latin anguineus for "snake-like".[4] Other
common names for this species include frill
shark, lizard shark, scaffold shark, and silk shark.[1][5]
Several early authors believed the frilled shark to be a living
representative of otherwise long-extinct groups of elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, and their ancestors), based on its
multi-pointed teeth, the articulation of its upper jaw directly to the cranium
behind the eyes (called "amphistyly"), and its "notochord-like" spinal column with indistinct vertebrae.[6] Garman
proposed that it was allied with the "cladodonts", a now-obsolete taxonomic
grouping containing forms that thrived during the Palaeozoic era, such as Cladoselache from the Devonian period (416–359 Ma). His contemporaries Theodore Gill and Edward Drinker Cope suggested it was instead
related to the hybodonts, which were the dominant sharks during
the Mesozoic era. Cope went as far as to assign this
species to the fossil genus Didymodus.[7][8]
More recent investigations have found that the similarities between the
frilled shark and extinct groups may have been overstated or misinterpreted, and
that this shark exhibits a number of skeletal and muscular traits that firmly
place it with the neoselachians (modern sharks and rays), and more specifically
with the cow sharks in the order Hexanchiformes (though systematist Shigeru Shirai has proposed that it be placed in
its own order, Chlamydoselachiformes).[6][8]
Nevertheless, the frilled shark belongs to one of the oldest still-extant shark
lineages, dating back to at least the Late Cretaceous (c. 95 Ma) and possibly to
the Late
Jurassic (c. 150 Ma).[9]
Because of its ancient ancestry and "primitive" characteristics, it has been
described as a "living fossil".[3]
[edit] Distribution and habitat
The first footage of a frilled shark in its
natural habitat, taken east of Georgia, USA on the Blake
Plateau.
Rather uncommon, the frilled shark has been recorded from a number of widely
scattered locations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the eastern Atlantic, it
occurs off northern Norway, northern Scotland and western Ireland, from France to Morocco including Madeira, and off Mauritania.[10] In
the central Atlantic, it has been caught at several locations along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, from north of the Azores to the Rio Grande Rise off southern Brazil,
as well as over the Vavilov Ridge off West Africa. In the western Atlantic, it has been
reported from off New England, Georgia,
and Suriname.[11][12][13] In
the western Pacific, it is known from southeastern Honshu, Japan, to Taiwan, off New South Wales and Tasmania in Australia, and around New
Zealand. In the central and eastern Pacific, it has been found off Hawaii, California, and northern Chile.[1][10] The
frilled sharks off southern Africa were described as a different
species, C. africana, in 2009.[13]
The frilled shark inhabits the outer continental shelf and upper to middle continental slope, seeming to favor upwellings and other biologically
productive areas.[4] Though
it has been caught from a depth of 1,570 m (5,150 ft), it usually does not occur
deeper than 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[1][5] In Suruga Bay, it is most common at a depth of
50–200 m (160–660 ft), except from August to November when the temperature at
the 100 m (330 ft) water layer exceeds 15
°C (59 °F) and the sharks shift
into deeper water.[14][15] On
rare occasions, this species has been seen at the surface.[10] The
frilled shark is usually found close to the bottom, with one individual observed
swimming over an area of small sand dunes.[1][11]
However, its diet suggests that it does make substantial forays upward into open
water.[16] This
species may make vertical migrations, approaching the surface at
night to feed.[4] There
is spatial segregation by size and reproductive condition.[15]
[edit] Description
The frilled shark has long, terminally
positioned jaws.
The frilled shark's first pair of gill slits
are continuous across its throat.
With its elongated, eel-like body and strange appearance, the frilled
shark has long been likened to the mythical sea serpent. The head is broad and flattened with
a short, rounded snout. The nostrils are vertical slits, separated into
incurrent and excurrent openings by a leading flap of skin. The moderately large
eyes are horizontally oval and lack nictitating membranes (protective third eyelids).
The very long jaws are positioned terminally (at the end of the snout), as
opposed to the underslung jaws of most sharks. The corners of the mouth are
devoid of furrows or folds. The tooth rows are rather widely spaced, numbering
19–28 in the upper jaw and 21–29 in the lower jaw.[2][13] The
teeth number around 300 in all; each tooth is small, with three slender,
needle-like cusps alternating with two cusplets.[4][16] There
are six pairs of long gill slits with a "frilly" appearance created by
the extended tips of the gill filaments, giving this shark its name. The
first pair of gill slits meet across the throat, forming a "collar".[2]
The pectoral fins are short and rounded. The single,
small dorsal
fin is positioned far back on the body, about opposite the anal fin, and has a rounded margin. The pelvic and anal fins are large, broad, and
rounded, and also positioned well back on the body. The caudal fin is very long and roughly triangular,
without a lower lobe or a ventral notch on the upper lobe. There are a pair of
thick skin folds of unknown function running along the belly, separated by a
groove.[2] The
midsection is relatively longer in females than in males, with the pelvic fins
pushed closer to the anal fin.[16][17] The
dermal denticles are small and shaped like the
tip of a chisel, becoming enlarged and sharp on the dorsal
margin of the caudal fin.[2] This
species is a uniform dark brown or gray.[4] The
frilled shark differs from its southern African relative, C. africana, in
having more vertebrae (160–171 vs 147) and more turns in the spiral
valve intestine (35–49 versus 26–28), as well as in
various proportional measurements such as a longer head and shorter gill
slits.[13] The
maximum known length is 1.7 m (5.6 ft) for males and 2.0 m (6.6 ft) for
females.[4]
[edit] Biology and ecology
Highly specialized for life in the deep sea, the frilled shark has a reduced,
poorly calcified skeleton and an enormous liver filled with low-density lipids, allowing it to maintain its position in
the water column with little effort.[16] It is
one of the few sharks with an "open" lateral line, in which the mechanoreceptive hair cells are positioned in grooves that are
directly exposed to the surrounding seawater. This configuration is thought to
be basal in sharks and may enhance its sensitivity
to the minute movements of its prey.[16][18] Many
frilled sharks are found with the tips of their tails missing, probably from
predatory attacks by other shark species.[15] Parasites identified from this shark include a tapeworm in the genus Monorygma, the fluke
Otodistomum veliporum,[19] and
the nematode Mooleptus rabuka.[20]
[edit] Feeding
The numerous needle-like teeth of the frilled
shark are suited for snagging soft-bodied squid.
The long jaws of the frilled shark are highly distensible with an extremely
wide gape, allowing it to swallow whole prey over one-half its size.[4]
However, the length and articulation of its jaws means it cannot deliver as
strong a bite as more conventionally built sharks.[21] Most
captured individuals are found with no or barely identifiable stomach contents, suggesting a fast digestion rate and/or long intervals between
feedings.[14] This
species preys upon cephalopods, bony
fishes, and smaller sharks.[4] One
1.6 m (5.2 ft) long individual, caught off Chōshi, was found to have swallowed a 590 g (1.3
lb) Japanese catshark (Apristurus
japonicus).[16] Squid comprise some 60% of the diet of sharks in
Suruga Bay; this includes not only slow-moving, deep-dwelling types such as
Chiroteuthis and Histioteuthis, but also relatively large,
powerful swimmers of the open ocean such as Onychoteuthis, Sthenoteuthis, and Todarodes.[14]
How the ostensibly weak-swimming frilled shark captures active, fast-moving
squid is a matter of speculation. One possibility is that it takes advantage of
injured squid, or those that are exhausted and dying after spawning.[14]
Alternatively, it may surprise its prey by curving its body and, bracing itself
with its posteriorly positioned fins, launching a quick strike forward in the
manner of a snake. It may also be able to close its gill slits and create negative
pressure to suck prey into its mouth.[16] The
many small, sharp, recurved teeth of the frilled shark are functionally similar
to squid jigs and could easily snag the body or tentacles
of a squid, particularly as they are rotated outwards when the jaws are
protruded. Observations of captive frilled sharks swimming with their mouths
open suggest that the small teeth, light against the dark mouth, may even fool
squid into attacking and entangling themselves.[13]
[edit] Life
history
The frilled shark is aplacental
viviparous; the developing embryos are mainly nourished by yolk, though the difference in weight between the
egg and the newborn indicates that the mother also provides additional nutrition
via unknown means. Adult females have two functional ovaries and one functional uterus, on the right. Unsurprisingly, there is no
defined breeding season for either sex, as this shark inhabits depths at which
there is little to no seasonal influence.[15] A
possible mating aggregation of 15 male and 19 female sharks has been recorded
over a seamount on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.[12] The
litter size ranges from 2 to 15, with an average of 6.[4]
Females ovulate eggs into the uterus about once every two
weeks; vitellogenesis (yolk formation) and the growth of
new ovarian eggs halt during pregnancy, apparently due to insufficient space
inside the body cavity.[15]
Newly ovulated eggs and early-stage embryos are enclosed in a thin,
ellipsoid, golden-brown capsule. When the embryo is 3 cm (1.2 in) long,
the head is pointed when seen from above or below, the jaws are barely
developed, the external gills have begun to appear, and all the fins are
present. The egg capsule is shed when the embryo grows to 6–8 cm (2.4–3.1 in)
long, and is expelled from the female's body; at this time the embryo's external
gills are fully developed.[15][22] The
size of the yolk
sac remains mostly constant until around an embryonic length of
40 cm (16 in), whereupon it begins to shrink, mostly or completely disappearing
by an embryonic length of 50 cm (20 in). The embryonic growth rate averages 1.4
cm (0.55 in) per month, and therefore the entire gestation period may last three and a half years,
far longer than any other vertebrate.[15][16]
Newborn sharks measure 40–60 cm (16–24 in) long; males attain sexual maturity at 1.0–1.2 m (3.3–3.9 ft) long,
and females at 1.3–1.5 m (4.3–4.9 ft) long.[1]
[edit] Human
interactions
The frilled shark has seldom been encountered alive, and thus poses no danger
to humans (though scientists have accidentally cut themselves examining its
teeth).[10] On
August 27, 2004, the first observation of this species in its natural habitat
was made by the ROV Johnson Sea Link II, on the Blake Plateau off
the southeastern United States.[11] On
January 21, 2007, a Japanese fisherman discovered a 1.6 m (5.2 ft) long female
alive at the surface, perhaps there because of illness or weakness from the warm
water. It was brought to Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka, where it died after a few hours.[23]
Garman, and numerous authors since, have advanced the frilled shark as an
explanation for sea serpent sightings. Because of the shark's modest size, some
cryptozoologists have posited the existence of a giant relative, particularly as
larger Chlamydoselachus species are known from the fossil record.[2][3]
Small numbers of frill sharks are caught incidentally by various deepwater commercial fisheries around the world, using trawls, gillnets, and longlines.[1] In
particular, it is regularly taken in Suruga Bay in bottom gillnets meant for sea breams and gnomefishes, and in midwater trawls meant for the
shrimp
Sergia lucens. Japanese fishers regard it as
a nuisance, as it damages the nets.[15] This
shark is sometimes sold for meat or processed into fishmeal, but is not economically significant.
Because of its very low reproductive rate and the continuing expansion of commercial fisheries into its habitat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) has listed it as Near Threatened.[1]
shark..................
There are over 360 species of
sharks. There are lots of differences in sharks. The 8 orders of sharks are
listed below. Each order ends with
'-formes'.
Squatiniformes
(angel
sharks)
flat body , ray-like, 2 dorsal fins;
mouth in
front
no anal fin
Angel Sharks
Pristiophoriformes
(saw
sharks)
snout elongated, sawlike; mouth underneath.
no anal fin
Shortnose sawshark
Squaliformes
(dogfish
sharks)
short snout ; not sawlike or ray-like
2 dorsal
fins; 5 gill slits
no anal fin
Dogfish sharks (photo)
Bramble sharks
Greenland shark
Rough sharks
Pygmy shark
Cookie Cutter
sharks
Carcharinformes
(ground
sharks)
sliding flap that covers eyes;
2 dorsal fins; 5
gill slits; no fin spines
anal fin
Bull Shark
Caribbean Reef Shark (photo)
Tiger Shark
Lemon Sharks
Blue Shark
Milk Shark
Whitetip Shark (photos)
Hammerhead Shark (photos)
Barbelled Houndshark
Swell Shark (photo)
Leopard Shark (photos) (movie)
Silky Shark (photo)
Soupfin shark (movie)
Lamniformes
(mackerel
sharks)
no sliding flap over eyes;
2 dorsal fins; 5 gill
slits; no fin spines
anal fin
Mako
Great White Shark
Thresher Shark
Basking Shark
Goblin Shark
Sand-tiger Shark (photos)
Crocodile Shark
Megamouth Shark
Orectolobiformes
(carpet
sharks)
mouth well in front of eyes;
2 dorsal fins; 5
gill slits; no fin spines
anal fin
Bamboo Shark
Zebra Shark
Blind Sharks
Whale Shark
Nurse Shark (photo)
Ornate Wobbegong
Heterodontiformes
(bullhead
sharks)
dorsal fin spins;
2 dorsal fins; 5 gill
slits
anal fin
California Horn Shark (photos)
Port Jackson Shark
Hexanchieformes
(frilled and cow
sharks)
6 or 7 gill slits; 1 dorsal fin
anal fin
Frilled Shark
Broadnose Sevengill (movie)
Shark Info
Games
Resources
Talk to Us
Jace, Robert and
Zac
Team # J0110481
sharks. There are lots of differences in sharks. The 8 orders of sharks are
listed below. Each order ends with
'-formes'.
Squatiniformes
(angel
sharks)
flat body , ray-like, 2 dorsal fins;
mouth in
front
no anal fin
- up to 15 species
- average 4.9 feet
- found in temperate and tropical waters
Angel Sharks
Pristiophoriformes
(saw
sharks)
snout elongated, sawlike; mouth underneath.
no anal fin
- 5 species
- bentic
- eat small fish and crustaceans
Shortnose sawshark
Squaliformes
(dogfish
sharks)
short snout ; not sawlike or ray-like
2 dorsal
fins; 5 gill slits
no anal fin
- 90 species
- deep waters
- tropical and temperate seas
- Arctic and Antarctic
Dogfish sharks (photo)
Bramble sharks
Greenland shark
Rough sharks
Pygmy shark
Cookie Cutter
sharks
Carcharinformes
(ground
sharks)
sliding flap that covers eyes;
2 dorsal fins; 5
gill slits; no fin spines
anal fin
- 197 species
- tropical and temperate waters
- also bentic
- some live in fresh water
Bull Shark
Caribbean Reef Shark (photo)
Tiger Shark
Lemon Sharks
Blue Shark
Milk Shark
Whitetip Shark (photos)
Hammerhead Shark (photos)
Barbelled Houndshark
Swell Shark (photo)
Leopard Shark (photos) (movie)
Silky Shark (photo)
Soupfin shark (movie)
Lamniformes
(mackerel
sharks)
no sliding flap over eyes;
2 dorsal fins; 5 gill
slits; no fin spines
anal fin
- 16 species
- 1 to 32 feet
Mako
Great White Shark
Thresher Shark
Basking Shark
Goblin Shark
Sand-tiger Shark (photos)
Crocodile Shark
Megamouth Shark
Orectolobiformes
(carpet
sharks)
mouth well in front of eyes;
2 dorsal fins; 5
gill slits; no fin spines
anal fin
- 33 species
- in shore
- tropical waters
- huge difference in sizes
Bamboo Shark
Zebra Shark
Blind Sharks
Whale Shark
Nurse Shark (photo)
Ornate Wobbegong
Heterodontiformes
(bullhead
sharks)
dorsal fin spins;
2 dorsal fins; 5 gill
slits
anal fin
- 8 species
- most primitive
- found in temperate & tropical
- bottom -dwelling
- oyster crusher
California Horn Shark (photos)
Port Jackson Shark
Hexanchieformes
(frilled and cow
sharks)
6 or 7 gill slits; 1 dorsal fin
anal fin
- 5 species
- like living in deep water
- six or seven gills
Frilled Shark
Broadnose Sevengill (movie)
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Jace, Robert and
Zac
Team # J0110481