Skip to Content Skip to Navigation

Ocean Portal by The Smithsonian Institution

Sharks & Rays

FEATURES


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...

EDUCATOR RESOURCES

LATEST TODAY'S CATCH


					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...

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 ...	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.
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.	Rethink the Shark Dec 18 2009 - 3:17pm Sharks have a long and impressive lineage. Ancient sharks were cruising the ocean 400 million year ago- long before dinosaurs roamed on land. Relatives of the great white like the giant megatooth evolved more than 20 million years ago. But today, sharks are threatened from a...
Megalodon Teeth Feb 26 2013 - 10:35am Two fossilized teeth from a megalodon (Carcharodon megalodon) dating back more than 20 million years.	Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) Aug 22 2012 - 1:57pm The TOPP program brought together scientists from seven countries to explore the lives of large mid-water animals such as sea turtles, birds, whales, tuna, sharks, seals and even squids. Animals that live throughout the open ocean are often hard to track, and because of this difficulty, we know...
The Spin on Sharks Jul 29 2010 - 5:13pm Starting this Sunday, August 1st, the fins will be circling on a television near you. Sunday kicks off The Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week,” an annual TV ritual that offers hours of programming about sharks—some bloody, some beautiful, some scientific, some sensational.	TOPP cartoon of Omoo Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am Omoo, a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), carries a satellite tag that sends information daily about her movements across the Pacific. Follow her migration real-time. More about the great white shark can be found in our Great White Shark featured story.