 |
|||
 |
 |
||
|
|||
|
|||
|
Did you know sharks can gestate for up to two years? The Indian elephant has a gestation period of 22 months; humans, nine months; and mice, a mere three weeks. |
||
|
|
||
|
Did you know sharks and rays don't have bones? Their skeletons are composed entirely of cartilage, like human noses. |
||
|
|
||
|
Did you know sharks have been around since well before the Age of Dinosaurs? Their evolutionary record extends back 450 million years. |
||
|
|
||
|
Did you know sharks and rays are cosmopolitan in distribution? They are found in waters all over the planet, from shallow coastal waters to the dark depths of the open ocean, from tropical seas to the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and even in salt water and fresh water. |
||
|
|
||
|
Did you know an individual shark can produce upwards of thirty thousand teeth in its lifetime? When a tooth wears down, it falls out and is replaced by one from the rows behind it. |
||
|
|
||
|
Did you know shark skin, or shagreen, feels rough if you stroke it in one direction (back to front), but smooth if you stroke it in the other (front to back)? Shark skin is covered with modified scales, known as dermal denticles, which contribute to their superb hydrodynamics. Fabric for high-tech racing swimsuits, seen in recent Olympic competition, has been modeled after it as this design reduces drag and turbulence. |
||
|
|
||
| |
|
|
