1. Sharks
Shy Ocean Creatures?

2. Sharks are Cartilagenous Fish
What parts of the human body are made of cartilage?
Ears
Tips of nose
Covering at the end of bones
Front parts of the ribs
Tendons and ligaments
Growth plates in children and adolescents

3. Anatomy of a Shark
Sharks belong to a family called Chondrichthyes. The members all have cartilage
rather than
bones.

4. Members Sharks, skates and the rays
There are approximately 700 species.

5. Cartilage not Bones
Cartilage is lighter than bone and helps the shark to float.

6. Unique Characteristics
Placoid Scales – tiny teeth embedded in skin that point towards the back to the fish.
Prevent fish from being eaten from the tail
Ventral gill slits with no covering
Very vulnerable area
Spiracles are breathing holes on the dorsal side of the head behind the eyes
Mouth is ventral and used for bottom feeding
Pectoral fins help give the fish lift like the wings of a plane.

7. Stingrays and Skates
Most are bottom dwellers in the sand of the Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic Coast from the Carolinas to Brazil.
Their tail is used for stabbing prey and enemies.
Stingrays have a spine on their tail, skates do not.

8. Stingrays and Skates

9. Sharks Comes in all Sizes – about 350 species
Whale Shark
Dwarf Dog Shark
6.5 in
up to 59 ft.

10. Mermaid Purses?
Shark egg sacs

11. Lemon Shark

12. Great Whites
Ocean Acrobats

13. Tiger Sharks Garbage Cans of the Ocean
They eat anything they can and help keep
the ocean clean

14. The Real Jaws
Meet the bull shark

15. Bull Sharks in Fresh Water?
Bull sharks can live
in both the sea and
fresh water. They have
been found in the
Amazon, Ganges,
Mississippi and
Australian rivers.

16. Goblin Sharks Found only in deep waters, are extremely rare, live on
fish and
octopus,
grow to
apprx. 10 ft.

17. Structure of Sharks
Sharks are living fossils because today’s form closely resembles fossilized forms.

18. Shark’s Adaptations
Lateral line organ picks up sound vibrations in the water
Ampullae of Lorenzini pick up the electrical impulses of the nervous system
Streamlined body shape allows them to move quickly through the water
Caudal (tail) fin is used for forward thrust

19. More shark adaptations
Teeth are serrated like a steak knife and are used to sever food into smaller pieces
Sharks must be in constant motion or in moving water because they will sink and need the oxygen to keep flowing over their body
Can detect the smell of blood from miles away

20. Shark Anatomy
Lateral Line Organ

21. Reproduction
Fertilization is internal and the shark usually gives birth to live babies, but some sharks produce eggs in cases that they attach to seaweed
Males have claspers to transfer sperm to the female reproductive tract.

22. Human Influence
Each year over 30 to 100 million shark are killed by nets, for food or for sport.

23. Shark Delicacy’s

24. Research Researchers combine shark cartilage and
cow collagen to make sheet to place over
a burn victim’s skin. The patient’s cells
invade, absorb
and replace the
sheet with new
human skin.

25. Protection Great whites are now protected along the
coast of California, Australia, South Africa
and the Maldives. Wildlife Conservation
Society has begun
a tagging program.