Latest Sharks Stories
BRUSSELS, Nov. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The European Parliament voted today to strengthen the European Union's ban on shark finning, the practice of slicing off a shark's fins and discarding the body at sea. 566 members of the European Parliament voted in favor of the European Commission's proposal to close a loophole by requiring that fins be left naturally attached to all sharks landed by EU fishing vessels globally and by all vessels landing sharks in the EU. (Photo:...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online The metabolite homarine is a useful indicator of the health status of whale sharks, according to new research from experts at the Georgia Aquarium and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Dr. Alistair Dove, the Director of Research & Conservation at Georgia Aquarium and an adjunct professor at Georgia Tech, and colleagues, discovered that the concentration of homarine in the serum was a major difference between...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The treatment of sharks in the media and popular culture has been historically rather harsh. A new study from Michigan State University reveals that this negative image is affecting their survival. The findings of this study, published in the current issue of Conservation Biology, reviewed worldwide media coverage of sharks and found that the majority isn't good. News articles from the U.S. and Australia are more likely to focus...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online New research published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Evolution indicates that the infamous shark from the movie Jaws may have more in common with police chief Martin Brody than previously thought. The Australian government announced a new catch-and-kill policy for sharks last month after great white sharks killed five surfers and swimmers this past year. The government also said it would be funding research into other measures to...
NOUMEA, New Caledonia, Oct. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Research published today in the journal Conservation Biology presents the most comprehensive assessment of the status of Pacific shark populations to date. The paper, authored by Dr. Shelley Clarke and a team from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in New Caledonia, shows significant declines in catch rates for blue, mako, and oceanic whitetip sharks, as well as declining average sizes of oceanic whitetip and...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online The shark with the most powerful bite isn't the Great White or the Hammerhead, scientists have discovered -- rather, it is the Bull shark that bites with the most force relative to its size, according to a new study. Marine biologists, including Philip Motta and Maria Habegger of the University of South Florida (USF), measured the bite strength from 13 different shark species, according to Dan Vergano of USA Today. They...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Researchers from University of Delaware are in the midst of a multiyear study with Delaware State University researchers to better understand the behavior and migration patterns of sand tiger sharks. In the latest phase of the study, an underwater robot is being unleashed to hunt down and follow these seemingly placid predators. The Oceanographic Telemetry Identification Sensor (OTIS) is a remote-controlled underwater device that...
WASHINGTON, DC, October 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At least 37 countries, including the United States and Mexico, have proposed protections for ten shark and ray species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The U.S. will join Colombia in leading an effort to secure trade measures for the oceanic whitetip shark. In cooperation with at least five other countries and the European Union, Mexico is pursuing protections for three species of...
WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Seven species of vulnerable sharks and manta rays have now been submitted by 35 countries for consideration for protection next year under an international treaty concerned with regulating wildlife trade. Governments met the deadline today and formally submitted their proposals for the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in March 2013. The recommendations include...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online White sharks are the largest predatory sharks in the ocean. They are thought of as apex predators, animals who as adults have no natural predators of their own in their natural ecosystem. Marine scientists have long known that white sharks feed on seals and sea lions, but a new study from the University of California, Santa Cruz demonstrates that there is surprising variability in the diets of individual sharks. The research team...
Latest Sharks Reference Libraries
The barbeled houndshark is found off the western coast of Africa from Mauritania to northern Angola, occasionally found in the Mediterranean Sea. It lives on the sea floor generally around river mouths where the bottom is muddy at depths up to 246 feet, and the water temperature is 68 - 81 °F. The barbeled houndshark is a very active swimmer having a slender body, long tail, the eyes are oval and set horizontally on the head; behind each eye there is a tiny sphere. It has a long arched...
The Nurse Shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, is a shark in the nurse sharks family, the only member of its genus Ginglymostoma. It may reach a length of 14.1 ft (4.3 m). Taxonomy The name nurse shark is thought to be a corruption of nusse, a name which once referred to the Catsharks of the family Scyliorhinidae. The nurse shark family name, Ginglymostomatidae, derives from the Greek words for hinge and mouth. Distribution and habitat The nurse shark is a common inshore bottom-dwelling...
The Bala shark, Balantiocheilos melanopterus, also known as the tricolor shark, silver shark, or shark minnow, is a schooling community fish of family Cyprinidae and the sole member of the genus Balantiocheilos. This species is not a true shark, but is commonly called a "shark" because of its torpedo-shaped body and large fins. Native Habitat The Bala shark's native habitats include streams and rivers in Southeast Asia (Sumatra, Thailand, Borneo, Malaysia, etc.) Aquarium Care...
The Pilot fish (Naucrates ductor) is a carnivorous fish that is a horse mackerel and belongs to the Carangidae family of fishes. It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas. The Pilot fish is known for following large vessels and sharks, where it feeds on parasites and leftovers. Its relationship with sharks has been described as nearly symbiotic: it is extremely rare that a shark will feed on a pilot fish, and smaller pilot fish are frequently observed swimming into...
The long-tailed thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus, is a thresher shark inhabiting tropical and temperate waters worldwide. Like all thresher sharks, it has a very long upper lobe of the caudal fin, sometimes as long as the body. Its body is brown or grey with a white underside. They can grow to about 25 ft in length and 750 lb. Thresher sharks often hunt in groups or pairs, stunning their prey with their tails before feeding on it. They mostly eat other fish and squid, but have been known to...
