Don’t let Hollywood movies shape your perception of sharks!
Sharks have shaped our oceans into the diverse habitats we have today. Sharks, as apex predators, play an important role in the ecosystem by keeping the species below them in the food chain healthy by removing the weak and sick.
Discover our top shark facts below!
Fun Facts about Sharks
1. Sharks are more older than trees. Sharks have been present for about 450 million years, whereas the first tree lived roughly 350 million years ago. They are not just older than trees, but they are also one of the only animals that have survived all five great extinctions.
2. The average shark has 40-45 teeth and can have up to seven rows of replacement teeth. Because sharks lose a lot of teeth and grow them back quickly, they often go through more than 30,000 teeth in a lifetime.
3. Of the estimated 34,000 fish species, Sharks are the world’s biggest living fish. And the biggest living sharks are whale sharks.
Whale Sharks usually grow to about 40 feet long and weigh an estimated 15 tons.
These are referred to as the ‘gentle giant’ because even though their mouths alone can span four feet wide., they cannot bite or chew.
4. However, Even Whale Sharks are dwarfs when compared to the largest fish that ever existed, the megalodon. Dating to over 20 million years ago, it’s thought that the prehistoric shark could have reached 80 feet long, weighing up to around 70 tons.
Unlike whale sharks, the megalodon was carnivorous and consumed any creature that fits into its nearly 10-foot wide mouth.
5. On the other hand, Measuring only seven inches long, the Dwarf Lantern Shark is the smallest shark in existence.
Awesome Facts about Sharks
6. Sharks are built for speed. The fastest known shark, the mako shark, can reach speeds of up to 46 miles per hour.
7. Sharks have skeletons made of cartilage instead of bone. Since Cartilage is much lighter than bone, sharks have less weight to carry.
8. Moreover, Sharks Can Only Swim Forward.
Read More: 30 Weird and Awesome facts about Animals that will Amaze You
9. Sharks’ ears are located inside their heads.
10. A little-known fact about sharks is that they have an acute sense of hearing. Some sharks can hear prey, like a struggling fish, up to a kilometer away.
Interesting Facts about Sharks
11. As they hunt their prey, Most sharks end up losing their teeth individually.
12. However, the Cookiecutter shark loses and replaces the teeth in its lower jaw all at once.
13. Hammerhead sharks have binocular vision! The T-shaped hammerhead allows the sharks to see 360 degrees, having ‘outstanding forward stereo vision and depth perception.’
14. Some sharks begin practicing their predation skills while in the womb.
Before they are born, the sand tiger shark pups compete with their siblings. In fact, the strongest one in each of the two wombs devours its weaker brothers and sister.
15. Most sharks must swim constantly to force water through their mouths and over their gills because they cannot pump water over their gills like the majority of fish.
Horrifying Facts about Sharks
16. 97% of all sharks are harmless to humans due to their size and teeth.
17. Despite an equal amount of men and women swimming in the ocean, men account for nearly 90 percent of shark attack victims.
18. Deaths caused by hippos, deers, and cows are more common than shark attacks.
19. Each year, sharks kill less than ten humans. In contrast, we kill over 100 million sharks each year. So yeah, We are much scarier than them.
20. There are over 500 species of Sharks. Out of this, 143 are under threat, listed by IUCN from vulnerable to critically endangered.
That’s it for this post guys, I hope you had fun while reading about 20 Mind-Blowing Shark facts.
And in case you’re interested in reading other articles:
30 Mind-Blowing Space facts that will amaze you
15 Mind-Blowing facts about Ocean that everyone needs to know.
30 Weird and Awesome facts about Animals that will Amaze you
