Name That Shark
This type of shark was made notorious by the movie Jaws, and is known to populate the coast of Cape Cod
Great White Shark 🦈
This week, the largest Atlantic great white shark tagged (Contender) was spotted swimming off the coast of Nantucket! Contender is almost 14 feet long and weighs over 1,600 pounds.
What is the name of the lead shark in Finding Nemo?
Bruce
Bruce is a great white shark and the leader of the Fish-Friendly Sharks support group.
What do you call a group of sharks?
A school, frenzy, shiver, or herd
These names reflect sharks' behaviors as they travel as a group! They may be referred to as a school like a school of fish, a shiver due to their sleek nature in the water, or a frenzy as they come together during feeding frenzies or migrations.
Name 4 of the 6 main organisms that sharks eat
fish, seals, mollusks, crustaceans, plankton, dolphins/ small whales
sharks' diets can be influenced by their habitat, their size, age, and their hunting strategies.
true or false:
you are more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a shark
true
Most shark attacks are due to poor visibility or the shark’s curiosity, and even then, they are incredibly rare.
This is a famous extinct predecessor to the sharks that was HUGE
Megalodons lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago and were potentially reaching lengths of 60-70 feet.
What year was the first Jaws movie released?
1975
Jaws is based on a 1974 novel and was rated a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.How many bones do sharks have?
0!
Sharks don't have any bones - their bodies are made out of cartilage (connective tissue).
What is the primary diet of a Hammerhead shark?
Stingrays
Hammerhead sharks use their hammer-shaped head to pin down and immobilize stingrays. Hammerheads also consume bony fish - like sea bass and mackerel!
True or false:
sharks swim constantly to avoid predators and to eat enough
false
Some sharks swim constantly, but not for hunting/hiding. “Ram ventilation” sharks (great white sharks, mako sharks, hammerhead sharks) need water to continuously pass through their gills to extract oxygen. Other sharks (nurse sharks, reef sharks) are “buccal pumping” sharks, and can simply breathe through muscle activation in their throat (sort of like how we breathe), and therefore don’t need to swim constantly.
What do Cookiecutter sharks do with their teeth that makes them unique to other sharks?
Eat them
The Cookiecutter shark loses its teeth similarly to other sharks, but sheds its lower teeth in entire rows rather than one at a time and then will swallow them with whatever they are eating.
16 Billion
The video was uploaded in 2016 by Pinkfong
How do scientists often decipher the age of sharks?
Scientists primarily use growth bands (rings) on sharks' vertebrae -- like counting the rings on a tree stump. Recently, scientists have been working on using new techniques to determine sharks' ages with their DNA.
When sharks flip upside-down, what do they do/ what are they doing?
Playing dead
This is called “tonic immobility,” and it can occur to avoid predators or even when the shark’s electroreceptor organs are overstimulated (even sharks get sensory overload 😊). Scientists sometimes flip sharks over to induce “tonic immobility,” to better study sharks in the wild!
true or false:
the largest species of shark don't eat any mammals (including humans)
true
The largest species of sharks are basking sharks and whale sharks! They both eat teeny organisms and fish eggs but have no interest in seals, dolphins, or even people.
This deep sea shark can be the color pink
Goblin shark
Fin fact (haha, like fun fact)! Goblin sharks look pink because they have translucent (semi see-through) skin.The “pink” is actually the visible blood vessels in their body.
Which U.S. state has a hockey team with a shark mascot?
California
The San Jose Sharks play in NHL and their mascot is S.J. Sharkie. Several other college sports teams have sharks as their mascot, like the University of S. Carolina Beaufort who has a shark mascot named Finnegan.
Some sharks are able to emit their own glow/ light in the deep ocean, what is this called?
Bioluminescence
Some sharks, such as the Kitefin shark, live in the twilight zone of the ocean (sunlight barely reaches) and are able to emit a blue or green glow. The Kitefin shark is the largest bioluminescent vertebrae in the world.
True or false:
sharks' brains are the size of walnuts
false
Sharks have some of the largest brains amongst fish, the same brain-body ration as many mammals and birds. They exhibit complex social interactions and behavior.
Myca's favorite shark, the Epaulette shark, is unique for ____________ing between shallow tide pools.
Walking
The Epaulette shark, aka The “Walking” Shark, has primitive legs made of pectoral fins that it uses to walk in very shallow waters and between tide pools. Fin fact! Epaulette sharks are so adaptive that they can hold their breath for up to 2 hours in shallow tides.
Which specific comic book did Jeff the Land Shark first appear in?
West Coast Avengers by Marvel Comics
Jeff the Land Shark first appeared in October 2018 but was not named until January 2019. He was originally cared for by Gwenpool and has since been transferred to various superheroes, and is currently cared for by Deadpool but appears in multiple storylines (therefore technically has multiple caregivers).
When do scientists hypothesize sharks first appeared?
450 million years ago
The earliest evidence of sharks is in the form of fossil scales and may be from toothless ancestors of sharks. The oldest shark teeth are about 410 million years old.
Many sharks have black spots near their nose and mouth. These spots sense __________ and ___________ in the ocean.
Electromagnetic fields and temperature changes
Fin fact: these are called electroreceptor organs, and they help sharks sense where prey is in the ocean. While sharks cannot smell blood from miles away, they do have a knack for sensing changes in weather patterns, chemical differences, and finding the best spots to hunt!
true or false:
if you're ever face to face with a shark (and in danger), you're supposed to hit them on the nose
true
As wild as it sounds, sharks are more likely to leave you alone/avoid attacking you if you cause damage to their eyes or gills. If a shark manages to bite you, your best course of action is to fight the shark back!