Shark - shark,great white shark,shark attacks,shark attack,whale shark,megalodon - Animals

Shark

shark,great white shark,shark attacks,shark attack,whale shark,megalodon

Great White Shark

With the tip of its classic dorsal fin protruding through the water's surface, a great white shark swims above a school of fish that are most likely too small for the behemoth to bother chasing down for an afternoon snack. Photograph by DLILLC/Corbis Despite the widespread fear of these enormous predators, great white shark attacks are rarely fatal. Most of the attacks are "sample bites" from the curious fish as they try to decide whether to go through the effort of a full attack. Luckily, they usually decide against making people their next meal. Photograph by Eric Hanauer/Alamy Near a seal colony in South Africa, a great white shark breaches, leaping for a decoy being pulled across the surface. Photograph by David Doubilet New Zealand fur seals swim warily above a great white shark, the largest predatory fish in the seas. Unfortunately for them, seals are one of these sharks' favorite meals.

Meet The Largest Fish on Earth-The Whale Shark

Whale sharks, the largest fish on Earth, are at risk of extinction, with less than 350 confirmed sightings since the mid-1980s. Although they are found around the world in tropical and warm seas (except in the Mediterranean), whale sharks are uncommon and researchers think they have been threatened by unsustainable fishing practices in some regions. They are listed as "vulnerable to extinction" by the World Conservation Union.

Rare "Prehistoric" Shark Photographed Alive

Flaring the gills that give the species its name, a frilled shark swims at Japan's Awashima Marine Park on Sunday, January 21, 2007. Sightings of living frilled sharks are rare, because the fish generally remain thousands of feet beneath the water's surface. Spotted by a fisher on January 21, this 5.3-foot (160-centimeter) shark was transferred to the marine park, where it was placed in a seawater pool."We think it may have come to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters," a park official told the Reuters news service. But the truth may never be known, since the "living fossil" died hours after it was caught.

Megalodon: Largest Shark That Ever Lived, photos

At 60 feet long, Megalodon was the largest shark that ever lived and a dominant marine predator.

Twice the size of a great white shark, and with teeth 21cm long, this was the top predator of its time. Type: Cartilaginous fishSize: Up to 60 feet in length
Diet: Carnivore
Predators: No known predators
Lived: The Miocene and Pliocene epochs, 16-1.6 million years ago.

Streamlined and muscular, megalodon had jaws over 2m wide. While megalodon could eat whatever it chose, its favourite food was whale. Other kinds of marine mammals such as seals and Odobenocetops were also on its menu. Most of this shark's hunting was in the open sea (juveniles lived closer to shore). It attacked its prey near the surface, when it came up for air. Megalodon could swim at high speed in short bursts so tended to rush its prey from beneath. Especially when tackling large species, it would first aim to disable its prey by injuring a flipper or the tail. Once unable to swim properly, the victim would be easy to finish off.

Photo of the Day- Tiger Shark hunting fledgling albatross

Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii, 1997 Photograph by William R. Curtsinger A tiger shark looms in the waters of Hawaii's French Frigate Shoals, where the sharks gather to feed on fledgling albatrosses. (Photographed on assignment for, but not published in, "Tigers: In for the Kill," November 1999, National Geographic magazine)

Shark Attack 3: Megalodon