It’s a good thing the tooth fairy doesn’t have to dive underwater for sharks, as some species lose up to 35,000 teeth in their lifetime! 7. Over 400 species exist worldwide Sharks may use the Earth’s magnetic field with special organs that act as a compass to navigate the oceans. [6] Sharks have an amazing sense of hearing. They can hear prey up to 3000 feet away. Their ears are actually located inside of their heads. Sharks are some of the oldest creatures of the planet and this amazing sharks poster shows off some of the most interesting sharks out there! Swimming through the ocean right now you’ll find each of these fascinating animals, and now you can also find them on your classroom wall, in this sharks poster! There are far more sharks off the UK coast than people think, including larger species such as blue sharks and basking sharks. They are most often spotted around England’s south-west coast, north of Ireland and Scotland. Sharks are found in all of the world’s major oceans, even in the Arctic, which is home to the Greenland shark. This remarkable fish is thought to live for up to 400 years, making it the longest-living vertebrate known to science.

Nicola Davies is the author of more than 50 books for children: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her work has been published in more than 10 different languages and has won major awards in the UK, US, France, Italy and Germany.Shark liver takes up 25% of their bodyweight. It stores the energy they need to swim long distances. The oil inside also helps with buoyancy, like an internal life vest. Most sharks cannot pump water over the gills as most fish are able to do. They must constantly swim to force water through their mouths and over their gills. A few exceptions to this are sharks that lie flat on the bottom of the ocean, such as the angel shark (which takes in water through a hole behind its eye called a spiracle) and the nurse shark (which opens and closes its mouth to move water over its gills). [2] This is a very special type of shark. It has a flat body with extremely long pelvic and pectoral fins, and is often mistaken for rays. But unlike rays, this bottom-dwelling shark uses its long fins to move around. It also has five pairs of gills located on the lower side of its body. Radar? Sharks don’t need that. They have jelly-filled pores that detect electromagnetic fields, helping them navigate the oceans and hunt at night.

Known in China as yu chi or "fish wings," shark fins are used to make the traditional delicacy shark-fin soup. The culturally celebrated but controversial soup is found widely in Asia and will even be on the menu at Hong Kong Disneyland when the park opens in September. Just like us, sharks come in all different shapes and sizes! On one end you have the whale shark which can be up to 12 metres in length, and on the other you have the dwarf lantern shark which can fit in your hand. Around 180 species inhabit Australian seas.Students will be enthralled by the diverse range of differences that each of these animals show, and using an apex predator like a shark to show how animals evolve different living strategies is amazing. On the list of amazing shark facts, this fact will enthral you. Just as humans can sleep walk, sharks can sleep swim. It’s a necessity for breathing. Continuous forward motion ensures that water flows to their gills. With the brain effectively turned off, the spinal cord takes over to control their movement. Some species of sharks are carnivorous in the womb. The first tiger shark pup to hatch will eat its siblings.

While scientists still have much to learn about shark migration, researchers do know that some species get around. Blue sharks (Prionace glauca), for example, roam the North Atlantic on journeys of 1,200 to 1,700 nautical miles (2,220 to 3,145 kilometers). After one record-breaking blue was tagged off New York, it swam 3,740 nautical miles (6,919 kilometers) to Brazil.

Shark fins are excellent swimming accessories. They ensure precise underwater movements. Most species have eight: pairs of pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and dorsal fins, plus an anal fin and a caudal fin. Sharks move water over their gills to breathe, but not all species need to actually swim or move to get oxygen - it's the case of angel and nurse sharks; Survival of the fittest happens even before birth. The first embryos to hatch eat the remaining sleepy eggs or even their smaller siblings. These practices are called oophagy (“eating eggs”) and adelphophagy (“eating one’s brother”). It speeds up their development so they come out as large pups. The world’s most unusual shark, the megamouth ( Megachasma pelagios), wasn’t discovered until 1976. Its mouth can reach up to three feet across, while the rest of the body is about 16 feet long. Only 14 megamouths have ever been seen. [9] Which just goes to show that sharks enjoy a reputation that is arguably more fearsome than their bite. Read on for more surprising shark facts compiled by National Geographic News:

In 2019 a team of researchers discovered how these sharks create their glowing effects: ‘molecules inside their scales transform how shark skin interacts with light, bringing in blue photons, and sending out green.’ The 1975 movie Jaws fueled widespread fear and hatred of sharks, and the shark has been intensely hunted since. It is so endangered that many countries have taken steps to protect it. Ironically, the late Peter Benchley, the author of the book, supported shark conservation. [11]

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It’s a mystery that baffles scientists. Around 70% – 90% of shark population disappeared 19 million years ago from sediment records, yet non-shark fish were largely unaffected. There are no known environmental changes or large predators during the time.