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Ocean Portal by The Smithsonian Institution

Sharks & Rays

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BLOG POST Swimming With Sharks Lying in water only a foot deep, I watched the shark meander lazily through the mangrove, already exuding the confidence inherent of the supreme creature within its domain. It was hot here i...MORE STORIES


	BLOG POST MORE STORIES Do Sharks Smell in Stereo? Animals, on land and in the ocean, live in a 3-D world, and they depend on their...
	ARTICLE MORE STORIES Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) The TOPP program brought together scientists from seven countries to explore the...
	BLOG POST MORE STORIES Reef Sharks Repelled by People Reef sharks rarely get any love. These sharks, comprising several species, loite...

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					X-Ray Image of a Monterey Skate May 14, 2013 - 9:19AMAn X-ray image of a Monterey skate (Raja montereyensis) reveals a spine that extends like a tail out from the pelvic fin. The skeletons of skates, rays, chimaeras, and sharks are made of cartilage, rather than bone. Scientists in...

Grey Reef Shark, West New Britain, Father Reefs, Papua New Guinea

Mar 28, 2013 - 9:45AM

Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at...

Gaping Jaws of a Great White Shark

Mar 20, 2013 - 9:27AM

A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) emerges from the water's...

SPOTLIGHT


5 Reasons to Revere, Not Fear, the Shark CREDIT: © Mary Parrish/Smithsonian Institution 1. Respect Your Elders Sharks have a long and impressive...

Grey Reef Shark, West New Britain, Father Reefs, Papua New Guinea Mar 28 2013 - 9:45am Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at night. They are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List due to fishing and the loss of their coral reef habitat. The sinister animal, with its sleek body, can be quite aggressive when directly threatened.	Breaching Great White Shark on the Hunt Jul 18 2012 - 10:45am It's hard to imagine a 2000-pound animal launching itself out of the water while hunting, but the great white shark does just that. This spectacular behavior is called breaching, and great white sharks breach in order to catch fast-moving prey like seals.
Tagging and Tracking Animals Underwater May 16 2012 - 4:35pm How do we know where ocean animals swim day and night? Scientists are getting snapshots into the daily lives of whales, sharks, and even fish by tagging the animals to track their movements.	Seafood for Thought Nov 18 2010 - 4:49pm Sunday, November 21 marks World Fisheries Day, an annual occasion observed in many fishing communities around the world. It’s a great opportunity—even for those of us who do not fish for a living—to pause and reflect on the importance of maintaining healthy fisheries.
Swimming With Sharks Oct 13 2011 - 1:15pm Lying in water only a foot deep, I watched the shark meander lazily through the mangrove, already exuding the confidence inherent of the supreme creature within its domain. It was hot here in Bimini, nearly 100-degrees and mosquitoes were thick and relentless, swarming on to any bare skin. Yet...	Aerial photo of Farallones Dec 17 2009 - 7:20pm In California, the Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary provides protection to Great White Sharks and other species. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.
Blacktip Sharks by Enric Sala Aug 16 2012 - 11:22am Enric Sala has spent much of his career looking for the ocean's "time machines" -- areas rich in biodiversity and largely unaffected by humans. In this recorded webcast, Sala, a National Geographic Ocean Fellow, takes the audience to the ocean's last wild places and tells us what scientists are...	Dead Great White Shark Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am By-catch, illegal fishing, sport fishing, loss of prey and habitat and shark nets are threatening Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) populations globally. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.
Shark Teeth Tell Great White Shark Evolution Story Nov 16 2012 - 6:05pm For the last 150 years, paleontologists have debated the origins of the great white shark. Many believe that they descended from the 50-foot megalodon, also known as the megatooth shark (Carcharocles megalodon), which is often imagined to be a vastly inflated great white. But after the discovery of...	X-Ray Image of a White-Rimmed Stingray Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am This X-ray shows the mouth on the underside of a white-rimmed stingray (Himantura signifer). The ray feeds without seeing its prey. Its eyes are on the top of its body, while its mouth is on the bottom. This rarely recorded freshwater species is known from about 10 specimens in museum...
Great White Shark at Surface Feb 17 2010 - 7:13pm Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are marvels of evolution, with highly-evolved senses keeping them among the ocean’s top predators. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.	Saving Sharks and Dolphins, Near and Far Jun 9 2011 - 3:45pm Sophi Bromenshenkel is an unlikely shark-lover. She's eight years old and hails from Minnesota, a state that couldn't be further from the ocean. But a family vacation to Florida changed everything. When she saw a pregnant bull shark left for dead on a beach, Sophie knew she needed to help.
Megalodon Teeth Feb 26 2013 - 10:35am Two fossilized teeth from a megalodon (Carcharodon megalodon) dating back more than 20 million years.	Diver Meets Manta Ray Mar 5 2010 - 4:29pm Manta rays are related to sharks, but have quite a different reputation among humans. They are often called the gentle giants of the sea because of their curious nature and graceful movements. This one glides up, as if to greet a diver in the blue water, near San Benedicto, Mexico.
Are Sharks Scary? Dec 18 2009 - 3:20pm What is scarier: sharks or extinction? This video from Save Our Seas puts whether we should fear sharks or they should fear us into perspective. Humans have killed killed off 95% of some shark species; now that’s scary. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark...	Smithsonian Shark Teeth collection Aug 13 2012 - 8:29am An array of teeth from the sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus. The Smithsonian has the largest collection of shark teeth in the world, with more than 90,000 fossil shark teeth. More about sharks and great whites can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.