great white shark

Above: one of the great whites favorite treats

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Great-white-shark

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/great-white-shark.html

When the great white shark is born it swims away from its mom. The reason some mother great white shark somtimes eat there own young. At birth this shark is already 5 feet long!!! Thats one big baby!!!!Many great white pups dont survive there 1st year.

The shark pups usally eat fish and other sharks when they are pups. When they get older the eat sea lions and seals. After eating a seal and/or a sealion the can go a month or 2 without eating a big meal.

Great whites are the largest predatory fish on Earth. They grow to an average of 15 feet (4.6 meters) in length, though specimens exceeding 20 feet (6 meters) and weighing up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms) have been recorded.They have slate-gray upper bodies to blend in with the rocky coastal sea floor, but get their name from their universally white underbellies. They are streamlined, torpedo-shaped swimmers with very forcefull tails that can propel them through the water at speeds of up to 15 miles (24 kilometers) per hour. They can even leave the water completely, breaching like whales when attacking prey from underneath.

cookie cutter shark

we would like 2 welcome the newest shark 2 our blog. The cookie cutter shark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How does a smaller shark go up against bigger one and not get eaten? Well, from below the cookie-cutter shark looks like a small fish. It swims slowly and waits for a larger predator to attack the As the predator is about to attack, the cookie-cutter shark turns and attacks the attacker.In other words the prey has just become the predator. The forward motion of the larger animal may even assist the cookie-cutter shark. By the time the larger animal realized what happened, the cookie-cutter is long gone.

The Cookie-cutter Shark is named after the cookie-shaped wounds that it leaves on the bodies of larger animals . Keep reading to find out more about the cookie cutter shark.
This species has a small cigar-shaped body (up to about 50 cm in length), a conical snout and two low, spineless dorsal fins positioned posteriorly on the body. It is dark brown dorsally, lighter below, and has a distinct dark collar around the gill region . The entire ventral surface, with the exception of the dark collar, is covered in a dense network of tiny photophores, which in life produce an even greenish glow. That sounds a little wierd!The genus name Isistius is derived from Isis, the Egyptian goddess of light.
This species has small, erect teeth in the upper jaw and large triangular teeth in the lower jaw. The Cookie-cutter Shark attaches itself to its prey with its suctorial lips, and then spins to cut out a cookie-shaped plug of flesh from the larger animal.

The dark collar is not illuminated, so would be silhouetted against the light from above. The theory suggests that this dark area would look like a small fish from below, and the Cookie-cutter Shark would wait for a larger predator to attack the "small fish". As the predator is about to attack, the Cookie-cutter Shark would turn and attack the attacker. The forward motion of the larger animal may even assist the Cookie-cutter Shark in removing the plug of flesh.
In addition to plugs of flesh from larger animals, the Cookie-cutter Shark is also known to eat squid. There are even reports of this species leaving crater-marks on the sonar domes of submarines
Cookie-cutter Sharks are recorded from scattered localities around the world. In Australia they have been recorded from Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia. They vertically migrate, being found in deep water, probably below 1000 m during the day, and migrating into surface waters at night.
www.amonline.net.au/FISHES/fishfacts/fish/ibrasil.htm - 13k

http://michaeldoig.net/41/large-shark-eats-your-clients.htm

funny shark picture of the month

March picture

whatever you want

if there is something u want 2 see on the site that isn't there just leave us a comment . We will most likely put it on the site

cool shark link

want 2 know about shark attacks and sharks in the news go 2 http://www.underwatertimes.com/sharks/sharks.php

:P

this is the basking shark !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

basking shark:

2008/03/09 03:59:41.504 GMT-4
By Robin Street
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Cetorhinidae
Genus: Cetorhinus
Species: Cetorhinus maximus
Geographic Range
North and South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Biogeographic Regions: oceanic islands (native ); atlantic ocean (native ); pacific ocean (native ).
Habitat
Basking sharks inhabit subpolar and temperate seas moving southward during the winter. They prefer surface waters of the open sea, straying inland only to breed in the summer.
Aquatic Biomes: coastal .
Physical Description
Mass3900 kg (average)(8580 lbs)
The basking shark has a conical snout, enormous gills, dark bristle-like gill rakers, and a crescent-shaped tail. Teeth are small and numerous(about one hundred per row) with a single conical cusp usually curved backwards, and similar in both jaws. Color is grayish brown to black above, often with blotches of a lighter color, and pale with blotches on the belly. Average size of this shark ranges from 7-9 m.
Some key physical features: bilateral symmetry .
Reproduction
Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)2920 days (average) [External Source: AnAge]
Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)2920 days (average) [External Source: AnAge]
Basking sharks are believed to be ovoviviperous. Females mature at 4-5m. Embryos supposedly measure between 1.5-1.8m in length.
Behavior
This is a migratory speciesal though its seasonal movements aren't well known. They dwell in northern waters as long as the plankton population is abundant, moving south in the winter. Though they are largely oceanic sharks, they can be found off the coast of Iceland and northern Europe during the summer where they mate.
Key behaviors: natatorial ; motile .
Food Habits
To capture food, this shark swims with its mouth open widely, gillrakers straining plankton from the water. The absence of basking sharks in the winter has led to the belief that they hibernate in deep waters until the following summer and, since they lose their gill rakers in winter, possibly cease to feed during this time.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
In some areas, this shark is considered to be a nuisance because it gets tangled in floating nets while basking on the surface. Occasionally, they have been known to ram small boats, presumably by accident.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
This fish was once used for its liver oil and was thus virtually endangered for some time. It is still used in lesser amounts for fish meal and animal feed.
Conservation Status
No special status.





BASKING SHARKCetorhinus maximus
Go to a Basking Shark Printout
The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is a huge filter feeding shark which grows to be up to about 33 feet (10 m) long. It is the second-largest shark (after the whale shark). The basking shark is also called the sunfish, the bone shark, the elephant shark, the sailfish shark, and the big mouth shark.
GENERAL DESCRIPTIONThis huge, bulky, filter-feeder is grayish brown to black to bluish on the upper surface and off-white or darker on its belly. It has a huge mouth which it uses to collect tiny food that floats in the water. A sluggish swimmer with huge gills and dark, bristle-like gill rakers, it filters its food from the water. The snout is short and conical.
SIZEFemale basking sharks are up to 33 feet (10 m) long; males are up to 30 feet (9 m) long. This enormous shark weighs up to 4 tons. It is the second largest fish in the world; the whale shark is the largest. TEETHBasking sharks have hundreds of teeth (each having a single cusp, curving backwards) but they are tiny and are of little use.
DIET AND FEEDING HABITSBasking sharks are filter feeders that sieve small animals from the water. As the basking shark swims with its mouth open, masses of water filled with prey flow through its mouth. The prey includes plankton, baby fish, and fish eggs. After closing its mouth, the shark uses gill rakers that filter the nourishment from the water. Gill rakers are bristly structures (the thousands of bristles are about 4 inches or 10 cm long) in the shark's mouth that trap the small organisms which the shark then swallows. The water is expelled through the shark's 5 pairs of gill slits. The shark can process over 1500 gallons (6000 liters) of water each hour.
SOCIAL GROUPSBasking sharks travel alone, in pairs, or in schools (groups) of up to 100 members.
HABITATBasking sharks live in coastal temperate waters. They spend most of their time at the surface, hence their nickname the "sunfish."
DISTRIBUTIONBasking sharks are found off the coasts of western North America from Baja to southern Alaska, off the east coast of the US and southern Canada, along the Gulf Stream, to the entire coastline of Europe, off the southern coast of Australia, off South Africa, New Zealand, most of southern South America, the Red Sea, and the coastlines of China and Japan.
SWIMMINGBasking sharks are slow swimmers, going no more than 3 mph (5 kph). They swim by moving their entire bodies from side to side (not just their tails, like some other sharks do).
REPRODUCTIONBasking sharks reach sexual maturity at about 2-4 years old. They mate in the summer off the coasts of Iceland and northern Europe. The gestation period is about 3.5 years. They probably reproduce via aplacental viviparity. Females give birth to 1-2 live young. which are about 5.5 feet (1.7 m) long. These are the largest shark pups.
Like all sharks, fertilization of the eggs occurs within the female. The eggs hatch within the female and are nourished by eating unfertilized eggs in the womb. There is no placenta to nourish the babies - they must fend for themselves, even before birth. They swim away from the mother immediately after birth, there is no maternal care-giving. SHARK ATTACKSBasking sharks are not aggressive and are generally harmless to people. MIGRATIONBasking sharks migrate seasonally, eating in cool northern waters, moving south during the winter. POPULATION COUNTThe number of basking sharks is unknown, but it may be decreasing since the basking shark is hunted for its meat, fins and oil.
BASKING SHARK CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom Animalia (animals)Phylum ChordataSubphylum Vertebrata (vertebrates)Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)Subclass Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays)Order LamniformesFamily CetorhinidaeGenus Cetorhinus Species maximus

someone suggested that I add the basking shark to our top ten so it is #10

whale shark

The species was first identified in April 1828 following the harpooning of a 4.6-metre (15.1 ft) specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. It was described the following year by Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with British troops stationed in Cape Town. He proceeded to publish a more detailed description of the species in 1849. The name "whale shark" comes from the fish's physiology; that is, a shark as large as a whale that shares a similar filter feeder eating mode. Known as a deity in a Vietnamese religion, the whale shark is called "Ca Ong", which literally translates as "Sir Fish"

Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits the world's tropical and warm-temperate oceans. While thought to be primarily pelagic, seasonal feeding aggregations of the sharks occur at several coastal sites such as Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Útila in Honduras; Donsol and Batangas in the Philippines; off Isla Holbox in Yucatan Mexico; and the Tanzanian islands of Pemba and Zanzibar. Though it is often seen offshore, it has also been found closer to shore, entering lagoons or coral atolls, and near the mouths of estuaries and rivers. Its range is restricted to about ±30 ° latitude. It is found to a depth of 700 metres (2,300 ft)[3]. The whale shark is solitary and rarely seen in groups unless feeding at locations with an abundance of food. Males range over longer distances than females (which appear to favour specific locations).

appearance
As a filter feeder, it has a capacious mouth which can be up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) wide and can contain between 300 and 350 rows of tiny teeth.Thats alot of teeeth. It has five large pairs of gills. Two small eyes are located towards the front of the shark's wide, flat head. The body is mostly grey with a white belly; three prominent ridges run along each side of the animal and the skin is marked with a "checkerboard" of pale yellow spots and stripes. These spots are unique to each whale shark and because of this they can be used to identify each animal and hence make an accurate population count. Its skin can be up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) thick. The shark has a pair each of dorsal fins and pectoral fins. A young whale shark's tail has a larger upper fin than lower fin while the adult tail becomes semi-lunate (or crescent-shaped). The whale shark's spiracles are just behind the eyes


The whale shark is not an efficient swimmer since the entire body is used for swimming, which is unusual for fish and contributes to an average speed of only around 5-kilometre-per-hour (3.1 mph). The largest specimen regarded as accurately recorded was caught on November 11, 1947, near the island of Baba, not far from Karachi, Pakistan. It was 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) long, weighed more than 21.5 tonnes (47,300 lb), and had a girth of 7 metres (23.0 ft).[5] Stories exist of vastly larger specimens — quoted lengths of 18 metres (59 ft) are not uncommon in the popular shark literature — but no scientific records exist to support their existence. In 1868 the Irish natural scientist Edward Perceval Wright spent time in the Seychelles, during which he managed to obtain several small whale shark specimens, but claimed to have observed specimens in excess of 15 metres (49.2 ft), and tells of reports of specimens surpassing 21 metres (68.9 ft).
In a 1925 publication, Hugh M. Smith describes a huge whale shark caught in a bamboo fish trap in Thailand in 1919. The shark was too heavy to pull ashore, but Smith estimated that the shark was at least 17 metres (56 ft) long, and weighed approximately 37 tonnes (81,500 lb), which have been exaggerated to an accurate measurement of 17.98 metres (58.99 ft) and weight 43 tonnes in recent years. There have even been claims of whale sharks of up to 23 metres (75 ft). In 1934 a ship named the Maurguani came across a whale shark in the Southern Pacific Ocean, rammed it, and the shark consequently became stuck on the prow of the ship, supposedly with 4.6 metres (15.1 ft) on one side and 12.2 metres (40.0 ft) on the other.[6] No reliable documentation exists of those claims and they remain little more than "fish-stories".

Diet


The whale shark is a filter feeder — one of only three known filter feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on phytoplankton, macro-algae, plankton, krill and small nektonic life, such as small squid or vertebrates. The many rows of teeth play no role in feeding; in fact, they are reduced in size in the whale shark. Instead, the shark sucks in a mouthful of water, closes its mouth and expels the water through its gills. During the slight delay between closing the mouth and opening the gill flaps, plankton is trapped against the dermal denticles which line its gill plates and pharynx. This fine sieve-like apparatus, which is a unique modification of the gill rakers, prevents the passage of anything but fluid out through the gills (anything above 2 to 3 mm in diameter is trapped). Any material caught in the filter between the gill bars is swallowed. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing" and it is presumed that this is a method of clearing a build up of food particles in the gill rakers.
Whale sharks congregate at reefs off the Belizean Caribbean coast, supplementing their ordinary diet by feeding on the roe of giant cubera snappers, which spawn in these waters between the full and quarter moons of May, June, and July.
The whale shark is an active feeder and targets concentrations of plankton or fish by olfactory cues. Rather than simply "vacuuming" constantly, it is able to pump water over its gills. The shark can circulate water at a rate up to 1.7 L/s (3.5 U.S. pint/s).[citation needed] The whale shark does not need to swim forward when feeding; it is often observed in a vertical position, "bobbing" up and down swallowing water and actively filtering it for food. This is in contrast to the basking shark, which is a passive feeder and does not pump water; it relies on its swimming to force water over its gills.[

Behavior towards divers


This species, despite its enormous size, does not pose any significant danger to humans. It is a frequently cited example when educating the public about the popular misconceptions of all sharks as "man-eaters". They are actually quite gentle and can be playful with divers. There are unconfirmed reports of sharks lying still, upside down on the surface to allow divers to scrape parasites and other organisms from their bellies. Divers and snorkellers can swim with this giant fish without any risk apart from unintentionally being struck by the shark's large tail fin.
The shark is often seen by divers in The Bay Islands in Honduras, Thailand, the Philippines, the Maldives, the Red Sea, Western Australia (Ningaloo Reef and Christmas Island), Gladden Spit Marine Reserve in Belize, Tofo Beach in Mozambique, Sodwana Bay (Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park) in South Africa and at the Galapagos Islands.
The highest concentration of whale sharks to be found anywhere in the world is in the Philippines. From January to May, they congregate in the shallow coastal waters of Sorsogon province (at Donsol). Lucky divers have also come across whale sharks in the Seychelles and in Puerto Rico. Between December and September, they are well known to swim along the bay of La Paz in Mexico's Baja California. Sometimes, they are accompanied by smaller fish, in particular, the remora. Recently, they have been seen in the vicinity of Tenggol Island, off the east coast of West Malaysia.[citation needed]They are also frequently spotted around other Coral Reefs along the West Malaysian coast including Kapas Island and Redang Island.

Reproduction
eggs remain in the body and the females give birth to live young which are 40 centimetres (15.7 in) to 60 centimetres (23.6 in) long. It is believed that they reach adulthood at around 30 years and the life span has been estimated to be over 100 years.[11 Conservation status
The whale shark is targeted by artisanal and commercial fisheries in several areas where they seasonally aggregate. The population is unknown and the species is considered vulnerable by the IUCN.[1] All fishing, selling, importing and exporting of whale sharks for commercial purposes has been banned in the Philippines since 1998 [12], followed by Taiwan in May 2007 [13].

[edit] Whale sharks in captivity

A whale shark in the Georgia Aquarium
A whale shark is featured as the main attraction of Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan and as of 2005, three whale sharks are being studied in captivity at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. Four whale sharks, two males, Taroko, and Yushan,[14] and two females, Alice and Trixie, are held in the Georgia Aquarium, in Atlanta. Two male whale sharks, Ralph and Norton, died in captivity at the Georgia Aquarium on January 11, 2007 and June 13, 2007 respectively.[15] The two males were added on June 3, 2006 in hopes that reproduction in whale sharks could be studied in captivity. All six whale sharks were imported from Taiwan, where whale sharks are dubbed tofu sharks because of the taste and texture of the flesh.

[edit] See also
List of sharks

[edit] References
^ a b Norman, Brad (2000). Rhincodon typus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable.
^ Jurassic Shark (2000) documentary by Jacinth O'Donnell; broadcast on Discovery Channel, August 5, 2006
^ a b c d Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. Rhincodon typus. FishBase. Retrieved on 17 September, 2006.
^ Compagno, L.J.V.. Species Fact Sheet, Rhincodon typus. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved on 19 September, 2006.
^ Gerald L. Wood, Animal Facts and Feats, 1990.
^ Xavier Maniguet, Jaws of Death; 1991.
^ a b Martin, R. Aidan.. Elasmo Research. ReefQuest. Retrieved on 17 September, 2006.
^ Whale shark. Icthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved on 17 September 2006.
^ Shoou-Jeng Joung1, Che-Tsung Chen, Eugenie Clark, Senzo Uchida and William Y. P. Huang. The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a livebearer: 300 embryos found in one ‘megamamma’ supreme. Environmental Biology of Fishes Volume 46, Number 3 / July, 1996
^ Dr. Eugenie Clark. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved on 26 September, 2006.
^ "Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) Issues Paper", Biology of Whale Shark, Department of the Environment and Heritage (Australian Government), 2005, <http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/recovery/r-typus-issues/biology.html>
^ [1] Whale Sharks Receive Protection in the Philippines
^ [2] COA bans fishing for whale sharks
^ Aquarium gains two new whale sharks. CNN.com (June 1 2007). Retrieved on June 1, 2007.
^ 2nd whale shark dies at Ga. Aquarium. Yahoo.com (June 13 2007). Retrieved on June 13, 2007.
General references
J. G. Colman (1997). A review of the biology and ecology of the whale shark. Journal of Fish Biology 51 (6), 1219–1234.
FAO web page on Whale shark
"Rhincodon typus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2004 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2004.
Rhincodon typus (TSN 159857). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 16 November 2005.
www.wikipedia.com



Categories: Vulnerable species Ovoviviparous fish Rhincodontidae

cool!

The angel shark

endangered:no
habitat: most live in sand
food:rays mollusks,crustaceans



will be continued at a later date

ttfn

this is an awesome site about disection:

http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/Biology/ppepe/BIO145/lab04_6.html

top 9 sharks

whats up people??? We are making a list about are top ten sharks.There will be information about these 10 sharks
1.whale shark
2. great white shark
3.tiger shark
4.mako shark
5.blue shark
6.goblin shark
7.dwarf shark
8.angel shark
9.nurse shark
why not 10? Ten would be taking up our blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!