- Sharks have upper and lower eyelids but they do not blink
- Sharks can travel up to 40 miles per hour
- The most harmless sharks tend to be the largest
- There are 370 species of sharks
- Some sharks swim in a figure eight when frightened
- Sharks have survived on earth for about 400 million years
- A shark bites with its lower jaw first and then its upper
- Some sharks may eat other sharks
- The hides of mature female blue sharks are more than twice as thick as those of males
- Florida averages the greatest number of shark attacks annually
- A shark may grow and use over 20,000 teeth in its lifetime
- Almost all sharks are "carnivores" or meat eaters
- Sharks have been around for about 400 million years
- Sharks have the most powerful jaws on the planet
- Unlike most animals' jaws, both the sharks' upper and lower jaws move
- Sharks never run out of teeth. If one is lost, another spins forward from the rows and rows of backup teeth
- Sharks can have from 1 to 100 babies at a time, depending on the type of shark
- On average, there are only about 100 shark attacks each year and 10 of those result in a human death
- A shark is a fish. It breathes through its gills, has a backbone and lives in water
- Sharks can detect one part of blood per ten billion parts of water – that means they could detect one drop of blood in an area the size of an Olympic swimming pool!
- The mako is the fastest shark in the ocean, able to swim at up to 22mph
- The dwarf lantern shark {Etmopterus perryi} is the smallest shark and grows to only about 15cm
- About 75 shark species are in danger of becoming extinct
- Most sharks have at least four rows of teeth. As the first row of teeth in a shark gets worn out, the other rows of teeth move forward
- Sharks are covered in sharp, tooth-like scales called denticles
Note: Shark facts gathered from Sharks & Rays (Nature Company Guide) by L.R. Taylor (editor) et al
