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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...

Ancient Great White Shark Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am A scientific illustration of the most powerful fish of its time, Carcharodon megalodon, which swam the ocean 30 million years ago. This shark may have reached a size of 20 meters/66 feet. Meet other ancient top predators and modern great white sharks.	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...
Fossil tooth spiral Aug 15 2012 - 9:45am The fossil tooth whorl of the ancient shark Helicoprion, dating back 290 million years before present. For a long time, people didn't know what the shark looked like—but, thanks to a CT scan of a fossil, researchers finally put the pieces together in 2013. Read more about this story in our ...	Caribbean Reef Shark Sep 29 2011 - 1:46pm Several Caribbean reef sharks swim over a coral reef in the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry. For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads...
Reef Sharks Repelled by People Apr 27 2012 - 10:19am Reef sharks rarely get any love. These sharks, comprising several species, loiter around coral reefs, snacking on small fish, squids and crustaceans. And while their size is nothing to smirk at -- 5-10 feet is pretty impressive in my book!	Megalodon Teeth Feb 26 2013 - 10:35am Two fossilized teeth from a megalodon (Carcharodon megalodon) dating back more than 20 million years.
Gaping Jaws of a Great White Shark Mar 20 2013 - 9:27am A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) emerges from the water's surface, gaping at the photographer. Gaping is a way sharks communicate with each other, and maybe even try and communicate with humans.	Finned Sharks in South Africa Nov 18 2010 - 5:23pm Millions of sharks are caught each year for their dorsal fins, which are prized for shark fin soup. Top predators like sharks are important to maintaining biodiversity, and their removal can have ripple effects through an ecosystem. Learn more in our featured story about Sustainable Seafood ...
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...	Shark DNA Helps Catch Poachers Sep 30 2009 - 1:14pm Dr. Mahmood Shivji explains how shark DNA is used as evidence to prosecute shark fin poachers. More about sustainable seafood can be found in our Sustainable Seafood Section.
5 Reasons to Revere, Not Fear, the Shark Sep 1 2011 - 3:08pm CREDIT: © Mary Parrish/Smithsonian Institution 1. Respect Your Elders Sharks have a long and impressive lineage. Ancient sharks were cruising the ocean 400 million years ago--long before dinosaurs roamed on land. Relatives of the great white like the giant megatooth evolved more than...	Shark Senses Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am Sharks have six highly refined senses: smell, hearing, touch, taste, sight, and electromagnetism. These finely honed senses, along with a sleek, torpedo-shaped body, make most sharks highly skilled hunters. They often serve as top predators - keeping populations of prey species in check. Removing...
How Big are Great White Sharks? Sep 11 2012 - 9:45am Imagine an adult person – now triple that size. That’s the size of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The biggest great white sharks can reach up to 20 feet long, but most are smaller. The average female is 15-16 feet long, while males reach 11-13 feet. More about the great white shark...	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.
Do Sharks Smell in Stereo? Nov 2 2010 - 12:43pm Animals, on land and in the ocean, live in a 3-D world, and they depend on their sense organs and brains to build the mental constructs that allow them to orient and navigate, which is crucial for hunting and fleeing. The process is far from simple. Humans, for example, use many visual clues to...	Tagging Along With Whale Sharks May 18 2011 - 11:28am The sea's largest fish has been a mystery until recent decades. Thanks to electronic tags, researchers are uncovering some of the secrets of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828). One tagged animal, dubbed "Rio Lady," swam some 5,000 miles during a span of 150 days. Another dove to a depth...