Did you know that sharks have survived the five great extinctions of living beings that have occurred on our planet over millions of years? These majestic and surprising fish have been able to adapt to the aquatic ecosystem of the oceans they inhabit, evolving and developing numerous adaptation strategies that make them very peculiar animals. Continue reading this interesting article on our site in which we reveal the curiosities of sharks and see how much you know about the life of these giants of the oceans.
Sharks can't stop swimming
The curious habit of sharks of remaining in motion while they sleep has a scientific explanation. The lack of a swim bladder in this group of animals means that sharks cannot remain motionless during their resting time. Amazing, right? This fact is due to the action of the gills of the respiratory system, responsible for exchanging gases in the aquatic environment that sharks need to breathe and, in consequently survive. Thus, the gills of sharks make them sleep in constant movement. Without a doubt, it is one of the most fascinating phenomena that guarantees its survival, since, without the action of the gills and the constant movement of the body, the sharks would run the risk of descending to the seabed. Read this article if you are interested in learning more about How do sharks sleep?
Shark GPS is Earth's magnetic field
Did you know that sharks are able to recognize the Earth's magnetic field and use it as a compass? This amazing ability that they have developed during their evolution on the planet allows them to move throughout the seas and oceans they inhabit, as well as during the long migrations that characterize their biological cycles. This curious behavior gives them the ability to follow their own maps of the main routes they must take throughout their lives. It is a truly amazing behavior that they have acquired as a way of adaptation and, consequently, of survival on Earth.
How sharks detect their prey
In addition to being able to recognize the earth's magnetic field, sharks have the curious ability to detect the electrical charges emitted by their prey while they are in motion, thus easily orienting themselves to attack and devour them. But how are they able to perceive these charges? The answer lies in the ampullae of Lorenzini, a set of electrosensor networks that are located in its nose and act as sensory organs capable of detecting electrical charges that are close to the shark.
The gigantic and feared jaw of sharks
Sharks are known worldwide for the ferocity of their feeding attacks, but are all sharks equally aggressive? The answer to this question can be found in the type of diet that the different species follow, since in the case, for example, of the whale shark, it feeds only of phytoplankton, lacking large jaws and being harmless to other smaller animals. However, most species of sharks follow a carnivorous diet, thus having powerful and strong muscles in their jaws, as well as numerous rows of sharp teeth that allow them to kill and dismember their prey in a matter of seconds. In this article we explain more about shark teeth: How many teeth does a shark have?
Shark bones
The particular skeleton that sharks have makes it a differentiated group of fish. They are the chondrichthyan fish with a cartilage skeleton, compared to the rest of the fish, with a bony skeleton, called osteichthyos. This cartilaginous skeleton is characterized by being very light and flexible, allowing them to move quickly and agilely in the water and explaining why they are so fast when it comes to catching to their prey.
Sharks camouflage
In the immensity of the deep sea, many animals opt for camouflage as a survival technique. The vast majority of them tend to do so to go unnoticed among their predators, blending in with the environment around them and thus being able to survive. In the case of sharks, this technique may not seem very useful, since they are the predators and do not have to hide from larger animals. But the truth is that they camouflage themselves so their prey won't see them and thus be able to attack them quickly and agilely. For this reason, the abdomen of sharks is usually white and the back greyish, which facilitates their camouflage in the water.
