Sharks, together with rays, belong to the group of elasmobranch fishes These fish are characterized by having a cartilaginous skeleton, which It weighs less than a bony skeleton and therefore makes it easier for the animal to swim. The shark usually causes panic in society due to its large dimensions and strong jaws, as there have been cases in which it has attacked people. However, we will see how the human being is not a food that is included in the usual diet of this impressive fish.
If you want to know what sharks eat and many other curiosities about shark feeding, don't hesitate to read this article from our place.
Shark digestive system
Sharks have a simple but curious digestive system. Their mouths are provided with numerous rows of sharpteeth, which are constantly renewed, since the teeth of these animals are fragile and can be lost during hunting of their prey.
The esophagus is very short, while the stomach is large and in the shape of J Food is stored and digested here, a period that usually takes between 1 and 3 days. At the end of the stomach is the pylorus, an opening that communicates with the intestine and prevents the passage of materials that have been ingested by mistake and that are not useful for the animal. In fact, the shark's stomach has the ability to revert undigested matter back to the outside as regurgitation. They can also do this to distract or escape from their predators, since in this way they create a kind of cloud with debris that prevents other animals from seeing.
The intestine is somewhat more complex because it contains the spiral valve, an organ made up of folds whose main objective is to increase the absorption surface of the digested food that passes through the intestines. Depending on the shapes and folds of the spiral valve, different species of sharks can be differentiated.
After obtaining the necessary nutrients, the waste passes through the rectum to the cloaca, an opening where the urinary system also empties. Finally, everything comes out through the anus that is located in the posterior area of the shark's pelvic fins.
What sharks eat?
Sharks are carnivorous fish, since they usually feed on other fish, crustaceans, molluscs and turtles His way of hunting is ste althy. First, they detect the prey many kilometers away thanks to the vibrations that it produces in the water and that are interpreted by the shark. In addition, they have very developed organs such as vision and smell, since they can smell a drop of blood from a great distance. They ste althily approach the food and when they are close to it they reach greater speed to prevent it from escaping. Carnivorous sharks include the bull shark, the hammerhead shark and themako shark All of these consume different types of animal life without making practically any discrimination, since they are three species of the best predators that exist. They like to hunt sardines, squid, dolphins, other small sharks, cephalopods, snails, crabs, etc. Until now, no specimen of shark is known to feed solely on a single type of animal, since its preferences will vary depending on the area where it is found and the food available at that time.
If, in addition to knowing what sharks eat, you want to find out how they eat, don't miss this other article: "How do sharks hunt their prey?"
What do great white sharks eat
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is one of the largest and most fearsome shark species in existence. It is also carnivorous, so the white shark's diet is based on the consumption of other animals. In fact, there have been cases where this animal can consume other animals larger than a simple cephalopod or small fish , because it also eats marine mammals such as seals and dolphinsIt is also not uncommon to see it feeding on birds that occasionally perch in the water.
These animals can dare practically anything because they are great predators, however, it is more difficult for them to hunt other marine animals such as killer whales, since they live in herds and are larger. The shark, in these cases, could lose out.
Now that you know what sharks eat and, specifically, what the white shark eats, if you want to know more about the types of sharks that exist, you can read Types of sharks - Species and their characteristics.
Sharks that eat plankton
Although practically all sharks eat what we have described in the previous section, there are species that also feed on plankton, that is, microscopic living organisms that are suspended in the water column. This is the case of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the mouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) and the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). Thus, the diet of the shark can vary greatly depending on the species.
These large fish simply need to open their mouths while swimming to filter large amounts of water, which is directed towards the gill arches where there are some plates that act as a filter to retain the plankton and let the remaining water. This plankton can be plant or phytoplankton, as is the case with some algae, and zooplankton, such as some annelids and small arthropods.
How much do sharks eat?
Because many of the sharks are famous for their great size and voracity when it comes to hunting, many people believe that they are insatiable animals. However, sharks typically consume only about 1-2% of their total body weight, as they have a lower metabolism than other animals and they take several days to digest the food, as we have explained previously. Despite this, there are some species that eat larger amounts of food and store it for a certain time. For this reason, it is important to know the species about which you want to obtain more information in order to know all the details related to its feeding.
Do sharks eat people?
We have always heard of a shark attack on a swimmer, which usually makes us panic. However, it should be noted that humans are not a common food consumed by these fish. In fact, most of the times in which a shark has hunted a person, this has been released because it was not to the animal's liking, although finally the injuries caused by its strong jaws can cause death.
However, it is not ruled out that some sharks feed on people, as there may be some reasons for this to happen. Thus, the main causes that can explain why a shark eats people are the following:
- The mistake with another marine animal such as seals.
- The shortage of their usual food in the middle, which makes them resort to humans as a last option.
- As a consequence of being threatened in its territory.
- For knowing human flesh, because like many fish, some sharks are very curious and bite into the unknown. It is known that the white shark and the tiger shark are the ones that have been able to cause the most damage to some swimmers and, especially, to surfers.
Even so, the number of shark attacks on people is not as high as we might think, since most sharks prefer their usual food to any human meat. That is why numerous divers dare to swim and study these large animals up close without fear.
Now that you know what sharks eat and other curiosities such as their metabolism and digestive system, don't miss these other articles to continue learning more about these incredible fish:
- How do sharks sleep?
- How are sharks born?
