The secret ingredient in shark teeth

July 30, 2012

Last week, an article was posted onDiscovery Newsregarding the recent discovery of fluoride in shark teeth, which, along with living in the water and replacing teeth regularly, keeps sharks free from cavities.

Here are five more things you probably didn’t know about sharks:

1. Sharks don’t have bones – they are completely cartilaginous.
2. Sharks have pits on their face called Ampullae of Lorenzini, which look like freckles. They provide sharks with a sixth sense (called electroreception) so they can pick up electrical impulses in the water, which lead them to their prey.
3. Some sharks have live birth, giving birth to fully-swimming shark pups, and some sharks lay eggs. Neither stay around their offspring after birth, but they plan breeding and “pupping” at the same time, so pups can hang around groups for protection.
4. The liver is the shark’s largest organ, making up five to 25 percent of its body weight and taking up 90 percent of the space inside its body cavity.
5. The jaws of bigger sharks are twice as powerful as the jaws of a lion.

Thanks to Kari McKeehan, Aquarium Supervisor at the Texas State Aquarium for her shark expertise. For more shark fun, catch Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, beginning August 12!