Picture copyright belongs to the photographer mentioned by each picture
| Sharks: |
Bull sharks : Bronze Whaler : Great White : Hammerhead : Leopard Shark : Nurse Shark : Whale |
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There are around 400 species of shark. They have gone through 350 million
years of evolution and are top of the food chain over 2/3
of the earths surface. Before you get too worried about being eaten you
should know that you are more likely to die in a car crash, from a
heart attack or from a falling coconut on a beach than from a shark
attack. Deaths caused by shark attacks are: surfers 45%; swimmers 27%;
snorkelers & divers 26%; kayakers 2%. Sharks particularly
notice contrasting colours, such as white skin and a dark bathing costume,
and vice versa. Putting sharks on their back can put them into a
trance-like state, but we've never been that close to try it! Not all bites are attacks. Their sensory systems are concentrated in their noses and mouths, so they nuzzle and bite strange objects to investigate them. A bite gives them information on temperature, texture and taste. If a shark is after you, all you can do is fight back. The bite of a shark is not very strong. Some dogs have stronger jaw pressure. The problem is that the teeth are razor sharp. Add to that it can be travelling towards you at 25mph and the impact alone could kill you. A brief note for
spear fisherman - when you spear a fish and it is wounded, it beats its
tail and body against the spear. Sharks can sense this and come to
investigate. |
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Leopard Shark
2 Musendam peninsula, Oman
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| 4,5 Musendam peninsula, Oman |
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| 6 & 8 |
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| 9 and 10 |
Pictures by Colin Wainwright, Dogsbreath Diver |
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| 7,8 Musendam peninsula, Oman |
 Pictures by Colin Wainwright, Dogsbreath Diver |
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Great White (Carcharodon Carcharias)
South Africa and USA, California's Pacific coast.
The great white is the biggest predatory fish in the oceans. They like seals and sea lions which are in the shore, the surf zone. Just like surfing people. they attack from below and behind, make one bite then leaves it to bleed, then return to eat it.
Pictures from www.sharkdivers.com in California and Guadalupe. California has thousands of seals and more shark attacks than
anywhere else in the world. Great whites' eat |
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A frozen example of Carcharodon Megalodon, a cousin of the Great White was found in melting ice by scientists working at the American Antarctic base on the Ross ice shelf in early 2004. It is thought to be several tens of millions of years old and is huge. Its jaws are around 15 metres/48 foot. They are still digging it out so don't know how long it is. |
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Taken by Justin, diving in South Africa, Oct 03. |
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| Bronze Whaler Sharks |
A cold water species. Seen in natal, off South Africa. <Picture awaited>
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| Hammerhead | There are nine species of hammerhead sharks. All are found in shallow waters - the sort you dive in. Their wide head enhances their electrical receptors so they find their prey easier than other species, it works like a metal detector. They also have larger brains than many other sharks. And they turn sharply. Some of the larger species attack people. They can be 6m in length. Some species travel in groups. Scalloped Hammerheads travel in immense schools. | |
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Seen in: Oman, Musendam Peninsular In the eastern pacific Marpelo, Galapagos and Cocos you could see several thousand Hammerheads in a dive. |
Hammerheads. Pictures by Scuba Iguana, Galapagos Islands. |
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Nurse Shark Can reach 14ft. Eat crustaceans at night. Females are larger than males.
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Picture, Tolgus BS-AC. Caymans |
| Leopard Shark. Seen in Oman. |
 Picture by Big Colin, Dogsbreath Diver |
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Silky Shark: Seen in the eastern Pacific: Cocos, Marpelo and the Galapagos attract them in the hundreds. Normally an ocean going species. Prefer to eat injured fish. |
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| Black tip shark - Oman, Musendam Peninsular | |||
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Whale sharks are found wherever there is warm water and suitable food, even the southern coast of England. Fully grown at 12m/38ft long they are twice the size of a great white shark and have a mouth 2m wide and parts of its skin is up the 14cm thick. They are filter feeders. They do not need to come up for air like other sharks so they can stay down for several days with no problem. In the Indian Ocean they visit:
The embryo of a whale shark can be 1 foot long and
there can be up to 300 within the two uteruses. The young develop within the
female, break free and emerge alive and free swimming. They double in size
within five months but less than 10% survive to maturity. We believe they can
live up to 150 years, but it but be half this. They reach sexual maturity
when they are around 30 feet and about 20 years old. They like deep welling
water to rise to the surface bringing minerals which in turn feeds plankton etc
which they filter. |
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Picture by www.peponidivers.com |
Picture Tolgus BS-AC.
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Shoals of Ramora often accompany and clean it. Many white spots on
its back. An adults mouth can be large enough to swallow a man whole, but it is
a filter feeder living off plankton. Follows its food in warm waters.
Indian Ocean, Galapagos, England, Cornwall & Oman, Musendam Peninsular.
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| White Tip Reef Shark |
Picture taken in Australia, Great Barrier Reef by Tom Haight Marine Wildlife Photography : http://oceanimages.com |
Picture by www.Phiphi-scuba.com |
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Many search engines rank web sites by the number of other sites linking to it. So please allow us to copy your pictures as we add a link to your site - we don't copy them without permission. And please place a link to us too ~ thank you. |
| Grey Reef Shark | Grey reef sharks are territorial and they can go into such a feeding frenzy that they eat each other as well as their prey. So if they arch their back at you they mean you should leave because they will defend their territory. It doesn't really mean to eat you, just get rid of you, usually. Your camera flash can trigger an attack. |
| Sand Tiger sharks | These swim with their mouths open and you can see their many, sharp teeth which point inwards to hold onto their catch. The whole set of teeth is replaced every 2 weeks. They hunt around warm coasts and reefs, hunting small fish and squid. A grown adult is 3m long. They are not afraid of humans and if you crowd or harass them they may attack. Give them space. |
| Bull sharks | Are found in all warm seas and coastlines. It attacks more people than any other shark, and it also lives in fresh water. It's been found 4000 miles up the Amazon and rivers around the world. The Brisbane river in Australia has 2000 Bull sharks in it. |
| Blue sharks | Eat small fish and squid and are inquisitive. |
| Lemon Sharks | Adults are 3m/10ft in length. Seen in the Bahamas and Bimini. The female gives birth after 9 months and could be carrying up to 17 baby sharks and as the parents eat anything the young immediately swim off and hide in reeds. They are more dangerous than great whites. They also eat albatross which land on the sea. They can see very well in daylight and at night. |
| Oceanic white tip shark. | Adults can be 4m/13ft long. Oceanic white tip sharks hunt big fish in the tropics. They will swim for miles to investigate something new. They can sense blood or sound at considerable distances. They are ferocious. |
| Short finned Mako | The short finned Mako is the fastest shark species. Its main food is other sharks and it fights. |
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Tiger Shark <pictures awaited> |
In Hawaii they catch Tiger sharks and attach monitors to them to learn
more about their travel habits and they easily cover 70km in a day. Tiger
sharks eat green turtles, seal pups and they do attack people surfing,
often in shallow waters and beaches. Mature sharks can grow to 18
feet/6metres long. Like other
sharks their teeth are as sharp as steak knives. Tigers follow the green turtles to French Frigate shoals where the turtles mate in the warm shallow waters and are easy targets. They also eat Albatross which rest on the water surface to rest - and just about anything in the sea. As the turtles often feed on sea grass, sharks are often found there too. They have a dark grey top and creamy white underside. There are vertical stripes along the side of their body. There are over 12,000 Dugong in shark bay, Australia and can weigh a ton. They look like manatees. Eaten by tiger sharks. |
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Common Nurse Shark |
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