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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...

Sharks Threatened by Finning Feb 2 2010 - 11:10am This photo of a freshly cut dorsal fin from a scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), was taken in 2006 on a long-lined fishing boat in Cocos Island, 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Cocos was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and is the home to one of the world's richest...	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.
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.	Cookie-cutter Shark Dec 21 2012 - 11:33am Ever heard of a cookie-cutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis)? They look like your average shark—sort of menacing and streamlined—but their name comes from how they feed. They eat smaller animals (like squid) whole, but also take large, round cookie-cutter shaped bites out of larger animals, such as...
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.	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 ...
Oceanic Whitetip Shark Sep 29 2011 - 1:33pm An oceanic whitetip shark swims near a biologist in the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry.	Young Lemon Shark Swims Through Mangroves Sep 29 2011 - 1:43pm A lemon shark pup swims through a shallow mangrove forest off the coast of Bimini Island in the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry.
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.	X-Ray Image of a Winghead Shark Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am The distinctive form of a winghead shark, Eusphyra blochii, is revealed by an X-ray image. The shark's eyes are spread far apart, giving it superb binocular vision.
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...	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.
Dr. Mahmood Shivji Feb 8 2010 - 8:43pm Dr. Mahmood Shivji of the Guy Harvey Research Institute and Save Our Seas Shark Center sampling a confiscated shark fin for DNA analysis. He can determine the species for hundreds of shark fins using a method called DNA barcoding. This data can be used to crack down on the illegal fishing of sharks.	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...
Shark Fin Genetics Oct 18 2010 - 4:27pm Dr. Demian Chapman of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at New York’s Stony Brook University explains how DNA extraction from shark ﬁns can identify the species of shark and where the shark was born. DNA research is very important to shark conservation efforts because it provides...	100,000,000 to 000,000,001: Rethink the Shark Dec 18 2009 - 3:19pm Who should fear whom? Less than ten humans are killed by shark attacks. Yet millions of sharks are killed each year by humans. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.