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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...

Giant Megatooth Model Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am A life-sized model suspended over visitors at the San Diego Natural History Museum shows what an ancient shark, the Giant Megatooth (Carcharodon megalodon), might have looked like. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story	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...
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.	Scalloped Hammerhead Shark Jul 29 2010 - 5:04pm A scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini at Isla del Coco, Costa Rica.
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...	Backbone of Biodiversity at Risk Oct 28 2010 - 7:01pm The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, maintains the Red List of Threatened Species, an inventory of the global conservation status of plants and animals. In a 2010 study, researchers concluded that one-fifth of the world's vertebrates (animals with backbones) are...
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...	Shark Attack Headlines Dec 17 2009 - 7:15pm Whenever a shark attacks a human, it's headline news. But when a human kills a shark, it goes unreported. Fear keeps many people from caring about sharks. But sharks have more reason to fear us than the other way around. More about the great white shark can be found in the Great White Shark section.
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.	The Big Five of the Ocean: Exploring the Waters of East Africa Nov 21 2012 - 11:25am A whale shark swims with a diver off the coast of Southern Mozambique. Photo: Caine Delacy. When we think "Africa," we think of the "Big Five"—lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo and rhinos—that crisscross the African Savannah. Few would imagine that there could be more natural beauty on offer. But...
Greenland Shark: One Species at a Time Dec 7 2011 - 4:12pm Scientists know the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) moves slowly in the Arctic's cold water. They also know that parasites attack the shark's eyes. But much about this animal remains a mystery. Marine biologist Greg Skomal says that's because the Greenland shark spends most of the year...	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...
Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, Colombia Nov 4 2010 - 11:59am The Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary site in Colombia was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006. The marine park surrounding Malpelo Island is the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, providing critical refuge for threatened and endangered marine mammals, fish, and...	Shortfin Mako Shark Jan 7 2013 - 10:06am The shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) is found offshore in tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, but has been known to travel to cooler waters at times. It is very strong and the fastest known species of shark. These qualities make the shortfin mako a prized catch among...
Breaching Sequence Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am Great White Sharks breach to hunt -- with split-second timing they grab an unsuspecting seal or sea lion in one swift snatch. Follow the action in this slideshow. Learn more about the great white shark in the Great White Shark section.	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 ...