Sixty Sharks is a place to learn about sharks. From the gigantic 60 foot Meglodon prehistoric shark of the past to the present day blue shark. We will explore the world of sharks and the sharks in our world.
When you say the word shark, most people imagine a great white shark or one of the other enormous, predatory sharks. They see the image of an ominous dorsal fin gliding through the ocean towards an unsuspecting victim. The notorious image of the man-eating shark is actually very limited since there are more than 300 species of shark that exhibit a remarkable diversity in appearance, ecology and behavior.
Shark Habitats
Sharks inhabit a wide range of habitats from the shallow coastal waters of the temperate seas, to the open oceans far from any land mass, to the deep cold waters of the arctic, to the coral reefs of the tropics and even to a few freshwater lakes.
Shark Feeding Habits
While no shark species is herbivorous, neither are all sharks predators. Some sharks, including the two largest sharks, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) and the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) are plankton feeders. The teeth of sharks also varies with food eaten by a given shark species. Some sharks that feed on invertebrates, such as mollusks and crustaceans, have flat molar-like teeth for crushing; while sharks like the mako shark and the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) have thin, elongated teeth used for grasping their prey and sharks like the great white shark have sharp serrated teeth for cutting chucks out of their large prey.
Size, Shape and Color
Sharks range in size from less than a foot long to more than thirty feet long. In fact, the largest fish in the world is the Whale Shark(Rhincodon typus). Some bottom feeding sharks have a flattened body, resembling a ray, while many of the large pelagic sharks have bodies resembling an airplane without winds. While sharks do not exhibit the wide range of coloration found in bony fishes, we do find variation in color and markings between shark species.
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