From “Nictitating Membrane” to “Dermal Denticles,” Talk the Talk of Sharks!
With so much shark talk this week, here are some of our favorite shark vocabulary words and fun facts courtesy of our marine expert friends at Adventure Aquarium.
- Did you know the largest species of shark doesn’t have teeth? The whale shark feeds entirely on plankton, small organisms that float and drift in the sea.
- Some sharks, like the swell shark, are bioflourescent which means they actually glow under ultraviolet light.
- Some researchers believe schools of scallop hammerhead sharks migrate great distances, moving from one region or habitat to another, using their ability to detect Earth’s magnetic field.
- Sharks have small teeth on their skin which are modified scales called dermal denticles. These scales are used to protect the shark from predators.
- Some sharks, like the great white, actually jump out of the water, also known as breaching, while catching their prey.
- Depending on the species, sharks reproduce by either laying eggs or giving birth to live pups, the name for baby sharks.
- Sharks have a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane. This eyelid covers the eye while the shark is feeding on prey to help protects their eye.
