COVARRUBIAS,+STEPHANIE

=SHARKS= == = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
 * By: Stephanie Covarrubias**


 * Table of Contents**

2.........................................How old are sharks 3........................................ How their body works 4........................................ Sharks sences 5........................................ Kind of sharks 6.........................................Amazing sharks 7.........................................Sharks meals 8.........................................What harms them and what helps 9.........................................Strange sharks 10........................................ Sharks and us
 * 1........................................ What are sharks

Page 1**


 * What are sharks?**


 * Sharks are meat-eating sea fish. Most have sleek bodies and rows of teeth. There are about 375 types, of different shapes and sizes, living in different part of the world. The dwarf shark is only four inches, while the whale shark, the biggest of all fish, is 50 feet. Sharks have became very sluggish in the cool water. Sharks prefer to live in warm seas.But the huge Greenland shark which is 20 feet long actually likes the cool water. This wierd sharks live in North Atlantic he hunts for fish and seals under the pack ice. Some of the sharks relatives are the rays and the skates. They all have skeleton made of rubbery cartilage. Other fish have skeletons amde of bone. A shark's gill slits are not covered like other fish, but are in row behind its head.

Page 2 How old are sharks?**


 * Sharks are very old. Sharks go back to the dinosaurs age. Sharks have survived for many years. We now how long th esharks have been around from the help of fossils. They have been around 350 millions of years. They are one of the oldest living animals. They were even before the dinosaurs. They are so many kinds of them i will be talking about them.

Page 3**
 * How their body works?**
 * Sharks are surely one of the most fearsome creatures on Earth. But they are also one of the most sophisticated and enduring. The oldest shark fossils date from more than 300 million years ago, before the age of the dinosaurs. And a few existing shark species, such as the hornshark, have kept the same basic physical characteristics for more than 150 million years. Scientists attribute this remarkable longevity to the shark's superior physiological developments. Sharks are outfitted with several special characteristics that make them highly effective, both as hunters and survivors. In this article, we'll examine these unique qualities to see why the shark is top dog in the ocean. Sharks also have a very unique skin texture. They don't have the large, prominent scales found in bony fish. Instead they're covered with smaller, tooth-like scales called** denticles**. These tough, protective denticles are aligned so that they channel water over the shark's body, minimizing drag due to friction.

Page 4**

One of the main reasons sharks are such effective predators is their keenly attuned senses. Initially, scientists thought of sharks as giant swimming noses. When researchers plugged the nasal openings in captive sharks, the sharks had trouble locating their prey. This seemed to demonstrate that the shark's other senses weren't as developed as the sense of smell. Further research demonstrated that sharks actually have several acute senses, but that they depend on all of them working together. When you take one away, it significantly hinders the shark's hunting ability. The shark's nose is definitely one of its most impressive (and prominent) features. As the shark moves, water flows through two forward facing nostrils, positioned along the sides of the snout. The water enters the nasal passage and moves past folds of skin covered with sensory cells. In some sharks, these sensitive cells can detect even the slightest traces of blood in the water. A great white shark, for example, would be able to detect a single drop of blood in an Olympic-size pool. Most sharks can detect blood and animal odors from many miles away.
 * Sharks Sences

Page 5**
 * Kinds of Sharks

There are over 360 species of sharks. There are lots of difference in sharks. There are many kinds i couldn't write them all. One of the most famous shark is the Great White shark

Page 6

Amazing Facts** **A shark does not have one bone in its body. Its skeleton is made up of cartilage. Cartilage is a tough material, like the material that shapes your ear.  The Swell Shark, found in New Zealand, barks like a dog.  AMAZING   Weird things have been found inside a shark, such as a nail, a bottle of wine, a treasure chest, coats, a suit of armor, a drum and a torpedo.   A shark’s skin is covered with denticles, which are small, razor-sharp teeth. Denticles can be removed from a shark’s body. After the small teeth are removed, the remaining skin can be made into very strong leather. A pair of shoes made from shark leather can last up to four times longer than shoes made with cowhide.   Sharks have very good senses. Sometimes a shark is called “a swimming nose”, for its great sense of smell. Sharks can easily detect prey that is in the sand, as well as at night. A shark also has a remarkable sensitivity to vibrations in the water. It can feel the movements made by other animals that are hundreds of feet away. They can hear sounds from thousands of feet away. Sharks can tell the direction from where the sound is coming from, too.   Sharks cannot eat Puffer Fish, because the Puffer Fish inflates like a balloon and pokes the shark’s mouth with its sharp needles.   Most sharks give birth to their babies. Only a few sharks lay eggs. Most sharks have six to twelve babies at a time, but the Hammerhead and Tiger Shark can have as many as 40 babies at a time. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> Most species of sharks can swim up to 20-40 miles per hour. A Mako Shark has been recorded at more than 60 miles per hour. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> A shark has three types of fins. They have two dorsal fins on their back, one fin beneath their body, called the pectoral fin (not all species have it), and the caudal fin is the tail. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> The Whale Shark is the biggest //fish// in the world. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">A Whale Shark has more than 4,000 teeth, but each is less than 1/8 inch long. A shark may go through 1,000 sets of teeth during its lifetime. When a shark loses a tooth, one replaces it. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">A Whale Shark weighs about 90,000 pounds. The second largest shark is the Basking Shark. It can be as much as 40 feet long. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Question: What is more dangerous to people - a shark or a wasp/bee? Answer: wasp/bee Every year, 100 people die from wasp or bee stings, yet hundreds of millions of people go swimming, and sharks kill only about six people. Only about 25 sharks have been known to actually attack people. Every year, people kill thousands of sharks. They are killed for food, oil, skins and sport. **