RESEARCH
Whale Shark
Scientific name: Rhincodon typus
Average size: 18-33ft
Habitat: Open water of tropical oceans.
Food: Filter feeder, mostly plankton & small fish.
Mouth and teeth size: Mouths can be around 5-6 ft across. 300+ rows of small teeth and have 20 filter pads.
Unique characteristics:
Their liver oil can be used to coat boat interiors.
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
It is illegal to sell, kill , and distribute whale sharks since they are endangered but in china they still illegally kill them for fins and oil.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
Their are already laws in place yet people still ignore them and hunt these sharks. We could make a habitat for these sharks.
Average size: 18-33ft
Habitat: Open water of tropical oceans.
Food: Filter feeder, mostly plankton & small fish.
Mouth and teeth size: Mouths can be around 5-6 ft across. 300+ rows of small teeth and have 20 filter pads.
Unique characteristics:
- 1 of 3 filter feeding sharks
- No danger to humans
- Largest living non mammalian vertebrate
- Their mouth is located on the front of their head rather than the underside
- Shear size is hard to tell
Their liver oil can be used to coat boat interiors.
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
It is illegal to sell, kill , and distribute whale sharks since they are endangered but in china they still illegally kill them for fins and oil.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
Their are already laws in place yet people still ignore them and hunt these sharks. We could make a habitat for these sharks.
Hammerhead Shark
Scientific name: Sphyrna zygaena
Average size: 7-8ft
Habitat: Worldwide, mainly temperate waters.
Food: They can eat bony fish, smaller sharks, skates, and stingrays
Mouth and teeth size: Small mouth and small teeth.
Unique characteristics
How their sensory system works has been used in technology for lenses and MRI scans
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
Considered endangered yet used in Asia for shark fin soup.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
On a Conservation list regulating the fishing of this species. We could make a habitat for these sharks.
Average size: 7-8ft
Habitat: Worldwide, mainly temperate waters.
Food: They can eat bony fish, smaller sharks, skates, and stingrays
Mouth and teeth size: Small mouth and small teeth.
Unique characteristics
- Hunt at night by themselves
- Can see 360 degrees around themselves
- Flat long head shape
- Small mouth compared to other sharks
- When they die, they can't form a fossil
How their sensory system works has been used in technology for lenses and MRI scans
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
Considered endangered yet used in Asia for shark fin soup.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
On a Conservation list regulating the fishing of this species. We could make a habitat for these sharks.
Nurse Shark
Scientific name: Ginglymostoma cirratum
Average size: 7.5-9.75ft
Habitat : Found in warm shallow waters
Food: Invertebrates like mollusks and crustaceans
Mouth and teeth size: Small mouth and many rows of small teeth.
Unique characteristics
Easy to use for research because they can tolerate capture.
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
Very low concern in the US. Some fisheries specifically target nurse sharks out of our country.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
Grey nurse sharks are currently protected. Stop fisheries that target nurse sharks.
Average size: 7.5-9.75ft
Habitat : Found in warm shallow waters
Food: Invertebrates like mollusks and crustaceans
Mouth and teeth size: Small mouth and many rows of small teeth.
Unique characteristics
- They are nocturnal
- Divers don't seem to bother them
- Their tail fin can be up to a quarter of their body length
- Have nasal barbs
- Smooth skin, not hard and rough
Easy to use for research because they can tolerate capture.
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
Very low concern in the US. Some fisheries specifically target nurse sharks out of our country.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
Grey nurse sharks are currently protected. Stop fisheries that target nurse sharks.
Black Tipped Reef Shark
Scientific name: Carcharhinus melanopterus
Average size: 1.6m or 5.2ft
Habitat: Found in the tropics and subtropical Indo-Pacific nearshore.
Food: They eat mostly bony fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans.
Mouth and teeth size: Contain 23-28 teeth on the upper jaw and there are 21-27 in the rows on the lower jaw.
Unique characteristics: Their dorsal fin has a black tip.
3 interesting facts:
They are used for their meat, fins, and liver oil.
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
They are over fished and are slow reproducers.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
The Wildlife Service National Refuge tags and has areas to protect animals like sharks. Stop over fishing and creating more refugees.
Average size: 1.6m or 5.2ft
Habitat: Found in the tropics and subtropical Indo-Pacific nearshore.
Food: They eat mostly bony fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans.
Mouth and teeth size: Contain 23-28 teeth on the upper jaw and there are 21-27 in the rows on the lower jaw.
Unique characteristics: Their dorsal fin has a black tip.
3 interesting facts:
- Most common shark in tropical reefs
- Timid and skittish
- Not a big threat to humans, but people do occasionally get bit.
They are used for their meat, fins, and liver oil.
Are they threatened (by humans, climate change)? Why?
They are over fished and are slow reproducers.
What are we doing to protect these species? What else could we do?
The Wildlife Service National Refuge tags and has areas to protect animals like sharks. Stop over fishing and creating more refugees.