Meet the great white shark, the ocean's most misunderstood predator. Listed among the top fears in the world are sharks, mainly the great white (Carcharodon carcharias). Over 51% of Americans say they are terrified of the species, with 38% too afraid to go into the ocean because of them.
Sharks are picky eaters
Movies and TV shows perpetuate that sharks love eating humans. In reality, sharks are notoriously picky eaters—and humans just aren't tasty enough. Culum Brown, a fish biologist at Macquarie University, says sharks respond strongly to the smell of fish and seals instead.
The great white shark has killed the most humans resulting in 52 known fatalities, though roughly 300 unprovoked attacks are recorded from the great white.
1. Great White Shark. Great white sharks are the most aggressive sharks in the world has recorded 333 attacks on humans, with 52 of them being fatal. The inclusion of this particular species probably comes as no surprise since movies, particularly Jaws, and television shows are quick to show their aggression.
The biggest great white shark on record was an enormous female shark named “Deep Blue.” This magnificent creature was over 20 feet long and weighed an estimated 2.5 tons. Her behavior was just as impressive as her size, and she was known for her unique hunting habits, mating rituals, and migration patterns.
While Deep Blue may be one of the largest fish in the ocean, these creatures can still be elusive and NOAA estimates a great white shark lifespan to be around 30-70 years so there's every chance Deep Blue is still alive and well in the ocean to this day.
Megalodons succumbed to global cooling due to the shrinking of their habitat, the vanishing of their favorite prey, and competition from other predators 3.5 million years ago.
Why did megalodon go extinct? We know that megalodon had become extinct by the end of the Pliocene (2.6 million years ago), when the planet entered a phase of global cooling. Precisely when the last megalodon died is not known, but new evidence suggests that it was at least 3.6 million years ago.
According to the Australian Shark Incident Database, there is a record of 9 shark incidents in 2022 as of January 2023. This record has yet to be updated to reflect the comprehensive record of all incidents in 2022.
Bull shark. Research has revealed that bull sharks bite with almost 6,000N, a force that is greater than what is required to kill and eat prey.
ESDs aim to overwhelm a shark's electro-sensory system. They emit electrical pulses (each one does so in a different way) that are supposed to repel the shark. So far, ESDs have been the most effective type of personal shark repellent.
Nurse sharks are thought to be among the most docile sharks, and frequently allow humans to swim near them or pet them.
Scientists say research off Mexico's Guadalupe Island in the Pacific Ocean shows great white sharks are sociable and will sometimes work together to increase their chances of catching prey. Their findings were published Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters.
Haploblepharus is a genus of catshark, and part of the family Scyliorhinidae, containing four species of shysharks. Their common name comes from a distinctive defensive behavior in which the shark curls into a circle and covers its eyes with its tail.
Made of very strong and thick bone, dolphin snouts are biological battering rams. Dolphins will position themselves several yards under a shark and burst upwards jabbing their snout into the soft underbelly of the shark causing serious internal injuries. More than Peas in a Pod.
Sharks are older than trees and dinosaurs
The earliest evidence of shark fossils dates back as far as 450 million years, which means these creatures have been around at least 90 million years before trees and 190 million years before dinosaurs.
Sharks help keep the carbon cycle in motion.
When they die naturally, they sink to the seafloor, where they are eaten by scavengers. However, when they are hunted by humans, they are removed from the ocean, disrupting the ocean's carbon cycle.
Megalodon, the biggest shark that ever lived, may have been killed off thanks to the success of the great white, new research suggests. A study of elemental traces in their teeth implies the huge sea monster faced competition for resources from its smaller and more nimble rival, say scientists.
Mature megalodons likely did not have any predators, but newly birthed and juvenile individuals may have been vulnerable to other large predatory sharks, such as great hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna mokarran), whose ranges and nurseries are thought to have overlapped with those of megalodon from the end of the Miocene and ...