All this talk about Shark Week has us interested in these prehistoric destroyers, so we decided to see what exactly makes these killers so intriguing.
With some help from Professor Mahmood Shivji, Director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute and Save Our Seas Shark Center at Nova Southeastern University, we found out that sharks have some super abilities you would not be amiss at comparing to those of a comic book superhero.
From super speed to incredibly fast healing, the over 500 species of sharks truly deserve the fascination that we have for them.
However, Dr. Shivji points out that despite these superpowers and the perceived ferociousness of sharks, very few have attacked humans. On the contrary the fishing of sharks for their fins by humans has brought many species to the brink of extinction.
The power to emit light and glow.
Superpower: Glowing bodies
The pygmy shark has light-emitting organs that make its skin glow. This tiny shark only grows to about 8 inches and uses the light as a form of camouflage, lighting up it's stomach to imitate the light that filters down through the ocean from the sun or moon above. Without the lights, it's body would block this light, and that would enable predators to see it from below.
The lantern shark has a similar ability, but uses its 30-minute bursts of light to communicate.
The power to heal remarkably fast.
Superpower: Fast healing
We tend to think of sharks as the ones giving out the damage, but they get injured too. So much so that they are evolved to be incredibly good at healing from wounds. Sharks have been observed to heal from serious external injuries extremely quickly, with major bites and gashes completely healing in just a couple of months.
One reason for this healing proficiency is that sharks constantly shed and replace parts of their bodies including their teeth and fin spines.
According to Dr. Shivji, the shark's ability to "heal very quickly from external wounds is remarkable."
The power of moving while sleeping.
Superpower: The real sleep "walkers"
It is a pretty common myth that sharks don't sleep and as cool as that would be it's unfortunately not true. Sharks need rest like everyone else, but the things that sharks can do while sleeping are pretty amazing.
Some sharks must constantly keep moving, so oxygenated water is always moving over their gills, so even when their sleeping they glide through the water.
Other sharks can lie on the bottom while sleeping, but do some odd things as well. Some of these awesome zombie-sharks actually keep their eyes open while their asleep, which has prolonged the misconception that sharks never sleep, Shivji said.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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