Shark Sensory

Sharks are really magnificent creatures that never cease to amaze me. We have all heard the astounding theory that a shark can detect one drop of blood in an Olympic size pool. A shark’s primary sense is an amazing sense of smell. It can seek out that one drop of blood in millions of drops of water. While describing their wondrous sense of smell I would like to debunk a common misconception. Sharks are often thought of as blood thirsty killers that live to hunt and prey on humans. While sharks must hunt to survive they are not ravenous monsters that have an unending appetite for blood. Instinctually speaking when a shark smells the distant blood it indicates that somewhere near is a wounded fish that would be easy to overpower. A shark will not even go out of its way to investigate the bloods source if it is full. There is no doubt that a shark’s keen sense of smell is very important however, they use their Lateral Line almost continuously. The Lateral Line is an internal sense that gives them the ability to detect vibrations in their environment. The Lateral Line can be seen on the epidermis of the shark as well, this is displayed by small pores named Ampullae of Lorenzini. The Ampullae of Lorenzini pores cover mostly the sharks head but can be found all over. With the use of these small pores a shark can detect and navigate its surroundings with ease, one obvious occasion is finding prey. A less known use is while they are asleep, sharks lack muscles around their gills so they must swim continuously to breathe. If you could imagine walking around in the dark with your eyes closed I am sure you would run into a few things. Well, sharks are able to use their Ampullae of Lorenzini to effectively sleep and swim all while keeping out of danger like fishing nets, boat propellers and possible predators. This attribute is irreplaceable to a sharks daily life, a shark could even sustain itself on these two senses alone.

Source referenced: http://www.sharks-world.com/shark_senses/