07/08/2024
Some facts about sharks that will help you win your next trivia night:
Sharks are older than dinosaurs
The earliest evidence of shark fossils dates back 450 million years, which is 90 million years before trees and 190 million years before dinosaurs.
Sharks are made of cartilage
Unlike other fish, sharks don't have bones, but instead have skeletons made of cartilage, which is also found in your ears and nose. This classification of fish is called "elasmobranch," which also includes rays, sawfish, and skates.
Sharks can lose thousands of teeth
Sharks can lose and replace thousands of teeth over their lifetime, and their teeth are coated in fluoride to prevent decay.
Sharks are apex predators
As predators, sharks play a vital role in the health of marine ecosystems by helping to balance the food chain.
Sharks come in a wide range of sizes
Sharks can vary dramatically in size, from the dwarf lantern shark, which is about the size of a human hand, to the whale shark, which can be up to 12 meters (39 Feet!) long.
Sharks are rarely dangerous to humans
Despite their scary reputation, sharks rarely attack humans because people are not part of their natural diet. In 2020, there were 57 unprovoked shark bites on humans worldwide, of which 10 were fatal.