Great White Sharks can go up to 3 months without eating.
The most harmless sharks are generally the largest, like the Basking Shark, Whale Shark & the Megamouth Shark.
Sharks never run out of teeth - when one is lost another moves forward from rows of backup teeth.
Sharks have the most powerful jaws on the planet.
Shark’s skin is covered with tiny tooth shaped structures called denticles.
Sharks don’t sleep like humans do - instead they are only able to shut down their brain and rest for short periods.
The fastest shark is the Shortfin Mako shark - it is able to reach speeds of up to 50km/h for short bursts. And can raise its body temperature above that of the surrounding water.
Scientists can roughly determine the age of a shark by counting the rings that form on its vertebra.
Shark meat has an unpopular image as food, so fish markets and chefs change the name of shark meat to rock salmon, rock eel, huss or flake. Make sure you ask what kind of fish you are being served!!
To date, there have been around 530 different species of shark identified and descibed. Let's hope that number continues to grow!
You are 30 times more likely to be killed by a lightning strike than from a shark attack.
Sharks are responsible for only 8-10 human deaths worldwide every year.Humans are responsible for around 70 million shark deaths every year.
Cows are responsible for more human fatalities than Sharks.
Vending machines kill more people per year than sharks do!
Some sharks can't reproduce until the age of 30 or more.
In some species, two-thirds of a Sharks brain may be dedicated to the sense of smell.
Sharks have been around for about 400 million years - long before dinosaurs.
Selachophobia - is the scientific name for an abnormal and persistent fear of sharks.
One of the smallest sharks is the Pygmy Ribbontail Catshark which is 6-7 inches long.
Sharks do not care for their young when they are born - once a baby shark is born it is completely independant.
Some sharks need to keep swimming to enable water to pass over their gills to breathe, this is called RAM ventilation. Others are able to sit on the bottom and continue breathing, this is called Buccal Pumping. The shark can pump its jaws open and closed to force water to pass over its gills for breathing.
The Megamouth shark is the rarest of the shark species.
Sharks cannot swim backwards.
Some sharks can have up to 3000 teeth at any one time.
In 1996, 198842 people were injured by nails, screws, tacks, and bolts; only 13 people were injured by a shark.
You have more chance of being killed by a falling coconut than by a shark.
Sharks prefer eating Seals or Fish to Humans. A human bite is often a mistake.