It’s that fun time of the year again – Shark Week! It also happens that Ranger Rick magazine dedicated a feature in the June/July issue to teaching us about these cool creatures. Sharks live in oceans all over the world and are known for fierce features like multiple rows of teeth, skin as coarse as sandpaper, and an amazing sense of smell. Yet, there are some shark facts you may not know.
Hopefully Ranger Rick doesn’t run into any bull sharks while exploring this river. Photo by Lila HigginsBull sharks can migrate upriver and survive in fresh water for long periods of time.
Great white sharks can swim up to 15 miles per hour and jump up to 10 feet in the air.
Sharks have a mirror-like layer in the back of their eyes, called the tapetum lucidum, which enhances their eyes’ sensitivity to light and allows them to see in deep or murky waters.
Newly found fossils show that a huge 20 foot long shark, Leptostyrax macrorhiza, lived over 100 million years ago.
Some sharks, like sand sharks, use an organ called the Ampullae of Lorenzini, visible as a small pore on the skin, to sense electronic impulses emitted by living creatures.
Continue your shark education by playing the Ranger Rick Name that Shark game!
Can you guess the name of this shark? (Hint: It’s WHITE – ITE + ALE). Photo by Klaus Stiefel via Flickr Creative Commons
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Written by Abby Barber
