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editSharks
Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton. They are closely related to skates and rays and can range in size from the gigantic whale shark, the world's largest fish, to the tiny pygmy shark. They are some of the world's most misunderstood predators, as they very rarely attack humans.
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The oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, is a large pelagic shark of tropical and warm temperate seas. It is named after its oceanic habitat (living in deep waters), and the white tips of its fins. It is a stocky shark, most notable for its long, rounded fins.
This aggressive but slow-moving fish dominates feeding frenzies, and has attacked more humans than all other shark species combined — it is a notable danger to survivors of oceanic ship wrecks and downed aircraft.
Recent studies have shown that its numbers are in steep decline — its large fins are highly valued as the chief ingredient of shark-fin soup and, as with other shark species, the oceanic whitetip faces mounting pressure from fishing throughout its range.
More on the oceanic whitetip shark...
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Photo credit: Terry GossA photograph of a great white shark taken at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico, August 2006. Animal estimated at 11-12 feet in length, age unknown.
editDid you know...
- Until the late 16th century sharks were usually referred to in the English language as sea-dogs. The name "Shark" first came into use around the late 1560s to refer to the large sharks of the Caribbean Sea.
- Some sharks, if inverted, enter a natural state of temporary paralysis called tonic immobility. Researchers use this condition for handling sharks safely.
- The name shark may have originated from the Mayan word for shark, xoc, pronounced "shock" or "shawk".
- The teeth of carnivorous sharks are not attached to the jaw, but embedded in their flesh, and in many species are constantly replaced throughout the shark's life.
- Even though the basking shark is considered to be slow and very large it can actually breach the water, i.e. jump fully out as some whales do.
- Despite the common myth that sharks are largely instinct driven "eating machines", recent studies have indicated that many species possess powerful problem-solving skills, social complexity and curiosity.
- That sharks are not known to bite humans as often as people think.
Things you can do
Here are some tasks you can do, as organized by the Sharks Wikiproject, if you are interested sign up on the project page:
- Copyedit/Formatting: Shark Trust, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Hans Hass
- Expand: Shark threat display, Finback catshark, Slender smooth-hound, Proscylliidae, Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis)
- Requests: Ron Taylor (diver) and Valerie Taylor (diver), John McCosker, Shark behaviour
- Stubs: Leonard Compagno, Eugenie Clark, Shark POD, Spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna)
- Images: Upload any non-copyrighted shark images to Wikimedia Commons
- Featured Articles/Good Articles: Basking shark
- Patrol: Look through the Category:Sharks for recent changes
- Collaboration: The current Collaboration of the Fortnight is Great white shark
- Other: See the projects page
Shark Articles
Shark order and family
- Ground sharks
- Bullhead sharks
- Hexanchiformes
- Mackerel sharks
- Carpet sharks
- Collared carpet sharks
- Blind sharks
- Wobbegongs
- Bamboo sharks
- Nurse sharks
- Zebra shark
- Whale shark
- Saw sharks
- Squaliformes
- Angel sharks
Shark species
- Angel shark
- Basking shark
- Blacktip reef shark
- Blue shark
- Bonnethead shark
- Bramble shark
- Broadnose sevengill shark
- Bronze whaler
- Bull shark
- Cookiecutter shark
- Dusky shark
- Frilled shark
- Ganges shark
- Goblin shark
- Gray reef shark
- Great hammerhead
- Great white shark
- Greenland shark
- Grey nurse shark
- Lemon shark
- Leopard shark
- Megamouth shark
- Mustelus hacat
- Nurse shark
- Oceanic whitetip shark
- Pacific sleeper shark
- Porbeagle
- Port Jackson shark
- Prickly shark
- Sand shark
- Sandbar shark
- Sawshark
- Scalloped hammerhead
- School shark
- Shortfin mako shark
- Silky shark
- Silvertip shark
- Smooth dogfish
- Smooth hammerhead
- Spiny dogfish
- Swellshark
- Taiwan gulper shark
- Thresher shark
- Tiger shark
- Whale shark
- Whitetip reef shark
- Wobbegong
- Zebra shark aka "leopard shark"
Extinct shark species
Shark people
All other related articles
- Shark
- Shark attack
- Shark POD
- Shark proof cage
- Shark net
- Spiral valve
- Ampullae of Lorenzini
- Oophagy
- Shark teeth
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Categories
Main category:Sharks
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