Whenever anyone hears the word shark their mind automatically goes to the ferocious beasts they have seen portrayed in various films and TV shows over the years. More often than not the word Shark is synonymous with the Great White but people often forget that there are many different types out there. In this blog we are going to introduce you to some of the lesser known sharks to let them have their moment in the spotlight!
Basking Shark
(Picture By Greg Skomal / NOAA Fisheries Service - Basking Shark (in English). NOAA Fisheries Service. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11... )
Basking sharks may look big and scary but they are one of the most placid members of the shark family. These gentle giants can grow to lengths of around 33 feet and they can weigh as much as 3 and a half tonnes. Their massive bulk is sustained by some of the smallest creatures in the ocean as the basking sharks diet consists of plankton, fish eggs, and small crustaceans and they gather this food by filtering 2,000 tons of water an hour! As they only swim at a maximum of 3 miles per hour, the basking shark will tend to stick to the surface when possible, but in those cold winter months they can dive down as far as 4,000 feet.
Great Hammerhead Shark
After seeing a Hammerhead for the first time, chances are you were quite taken aback by its odd looking head. However, by having its eyes on the side of the hammer tips, this actually gives the shark an evolutionary advantage as it allows for easier navigation through the water! As they are gliding through the waves the Great Hammerhead will be on the lookout for a coral reef as this is the home of many of its favourite sources of food. They will eat almost anything smaller than themselves, but their preferred source of food is the stingray. Their half tonne of mass make them a feared predator, but fortunately skirmishes with humans are rare.
Lemon Shark
The Lemon Shark gets its name from its light brown, yellow-tinged skin which enables it to blend in and camouflage with the sea beds on which it spends most of its time. To find their food, which includes sea birds, squid, and stingrays, these sharks will dive as deep as 1,300 feet to chase down their prey. Normally found in the Caribbean they are not an aggressive shark towards humans, but we still wouldn’t recommend getting too friendly with one!
Spiny Dogfish Shark
These are believed to be the most abundant shark in the entire world. They are small bottom feeders who can either hunt alone or in packs, and these ravenous fish will tuck into just about anything they can get their teeth into. It doesn’t matter if it is cod, haddock, crabs, worms or even jellyfish; if the Spiny Dogfish shark is hungry it will find something to eat!
The Epaulette Shark
These are one of the most amazing sharks you will ever see. The Epaulette lives in the Great Barrier Reef, and when the tides are out this shark is faced with a dilemma as what was once an expanse of ocean now turns into a series of rock pools. Fortunately this shark has a trick up its sleeve. Rather than go hungry being stuck in a rock pool, they use their fins are prototype legs to crawl between the pools of water! They can survive for 60 times as long as a human without oxygen as well, so this isn’t a problem for them either!
If you’ve now caught the shark bug, you can volunteer with the most famous of these beasts on the Great White Shark Project in South Africa to really see them up closer and personal!
