Contrary to common misconception, sharks are not lured by human blood. Instead, their interest is typically piqued by the scent of a bleeding fish or sea lion.
The belief that sharks are immune to cancer is a misconception. Numerous studies have confirmed this. Sharks have been found to have tumors in various organs, and more than half of them are malignant.
Sharks can produce a special substance to block nociceptors. With this ability, they can simply ignore the pain.
You'll never meet a famous white shark inside an aquarium — they simply die in captivity.
Sharks' teeth can vary dramatically in number depending on species: it's only 30 for some sharks, whereas others have up to 3 thousand!
The whale shark is the largest living fish but has tiny teeth of no more than six millimeters. It poses no danger to a human.
Sharks grind their teeth to communicate with each other.
Gestation takes up to 3,5 years for some species of sharks! This is the longest period of gestation known among vertebrates.
The bullhead shark features an unusual jaw structure — it has teeth growing only in the back row. Once a front tooth falls out, a tooth from the back row slowly takes its place.
The largest megalodon tooth found was about 18 centimeters long. Just to compare, teeth of the great white shark do not exceed five centimeters.
Sharks have no bones (except for teeth) but cartilage instead. That's why the only extant remains of megalodons are teeth, but sometimes vertebrae are also found.
A large number of sharks die from marine litter as they take it for prey and eat — one more reason for people to protect the environment!
The shark's first dorsal fin making all swimmers freak out is never used for acceleration or maneuvering. Its only purpose is the body balance that sharks need to avoid axis-turning.
Baby sharks become dangerous early in the womb. Sand sharks have hundreds of embryos inside them in the first months of gestation. Once the first teeth come, little sharks begin to eat each other and finally only one is born.
Some fishermen catch sharks, cut their fins off, and then release them. This does not give poor sharks a little chance for survival, though.
Not all sharks are large. For example, Etmopterus perryi is the smallest shark ever, reaching a maximum length of 21 cm.
Megalodon became extinct about 2.6 million years ago. This legendary predator used to top the food chain for a while but failed to survive for many reasons.
Sharks can sense the Earth's magnetic field and skillfully use it as a compass to find their way around.
The lifetime of the Greenland shark can last between 250 and 500 years! It the longest-lived vertebrate known. These long-livers inhabit nearshore areas of the Arctic.
Megalodon was the largest shark species that ever existed on Earth. It could reach up to 30 meters in length.
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