11 Facts About Sharks

Mankind’s public enemy number 1 is often on our minds when we're swimming in the water. Our fears, however, might be unfounded.

You’d sooner be killed by a lightning strike, a bee, or an alligator than a shark, and it’s far more likely you’ll be attacked by a squirrel than bitten by the underwater predator. Read up on your shark facts before you run screaming from the beaches!

1. They were here first! Sharks have been on the planet for more than 400 million years! The current shark species has been around for about 100 million… we know what you’re thinking, and yes, that was the same time as the dinosaurs were roaming the earth. Scariest time period ever?
2. Each year there are 50-70 reported shark attacks and 5-15 fatal shark attacks. These numbers are higher than they were in past decades, not because sharks are getting hungrier but because humans are encroaching more and more into their habitats.
3. In fact, while sharks kill under 20 people a year, humans take out between 20 to 100 million sharks annually due to fishing. Are they fighting back?!
4. There are at least 375 species of sharks. That number may seem overwhelming, but actually only about a dozen are dangerous. The three species most often involved in attacks on humans are the great white, tiger, and bull sharks.
5. The range of shark species is extremely diverse. One of the smallest sharks, the deepwater dogfish shark, is only about 8 inches long while the largest, the whale shark, can grow up to 60 feet!
6. Sharks don’t sleep! They must be so tired. Instead of catching 40 winks, they catch 40 minnows… and then alternate periods of activity and rest.
7. There are three types of shark attacks: “Hit and Run” where a shark bites, mistaking a human swimmer as something else, and immediately backs off, realizing the human is too big or a foreign object. A “Bump and Bite” involves a shark bumping a swimmer or surfer before the attack; these usually occur in deeper waters. Lastly, the “Sneak” attack is a strike without warning. The last two often result in far more severe injuries or fatalities.
8. Sharks have anywhere from 5 to 15 rows of teeth. They can replace a lost tooth in as little as 24 hours, and are thought to lose over a thousand teeth in a lifetime.
9. Sharks have some pretty cool secret skills: their skeleton isn’t made up of bones but cartilage, which is actually lighter than bone and makes them neutrally buoyant. They also have tiny organs called the ampullae of Lorenzini—little vesicles that can sense electromagnetic waves produced by other fish and animals. This helps them locate prey… even if it’s hiding in the sand!
10. Not all sharks are ferocious predators: the whale shark, the biggest of the shark species, only eats tiny plankton. Unfortunately, the species is endangered due to overfishing.
11. Not a flock or fleet, a group of sharks is called a shiver! Also used are game, herd, or pod.

Sources:
National Geographic
Florida Museum of Natural History
Shark's World