Archive for the 'Educate Me' Category
Saturday, May 9th, 2009
Where do basking sharks go in the wintertime?
The mysterious basking shark, which can measure 35 feet or longer, is known to live in temperate waters around the world. Yet, no one has ever examined a newborn basking shark. No one has seen a pregnant female. No one knows where the animals give birth. And until recently, no one knew where they spent much of their time, particularly in the winter.
Researchers tagged some of these puppies and it turns out they swim all the way from New England to the Bahamas and across the equator to South America. Scientists used to think they spent all of their time in cooler waters but it sounds like they like things a little warmer.
[source]
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Talk about having eyes in the back of your head. The common name for the fish is “barreleyes.” Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute investigators recently figured out why this species has a transparent head. Its eyes can actually rotate within its “skull,” so the transparency allows it to keep an eye on what’s going on all around it.
See some more pics here.
[source]
Thanks Luke!
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
The International Shark Attack File has released (a little earlier than expected) the ISAF 2008 Worldwide Shark Attack Summary. According to ISAF Dirctor George Burgess, there were 117 alleged incidents of shark-human interaction occurring worldwide in 2008. Just 59 of these incidents represented confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attack on humans.
There were 71 unprovoked attacks 2007. Maybe it’s the recession…
Click here to read more.
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Soon we’ll know where all the action is. The University of Florida will be releasing its annual report on attacks and fatalities from around the world. Every spring, George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, releases his report on human-shark interactions.
In 2007, there was only one fatal attack, but several attacks were reported in 2008. There were shark bite fatalities in the Bahamas, near San Diego in California and two in Mexico.
His report is scheduled to be released Thursday.
[source]
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
Ever wonder what kind of crazy fish are swimming around in the Congo River? National Geographic’s Explorer: Monster Fish of the Congo airs in the US tonight at 7 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel.
[source]
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
Word is Google is about to announce Google Ocean, the underwater version of Google Earth. Soon we’ll be able to take a virtual dip in the ocean without having to worry about those pesky sharks.
[source]
Saturday, January 10th, 2009
According to the Discovery Channel, a big body helps, but the primary predictor for how hard a shark can bite is the width of its head. Who knew?
The top five hardest-biting sharks, based on this study and prior research, are:
1. Great White Shark
2. Great Hammerhead Shark
3. Bull Shark
4. Blacktip Shark
5. Horn Shark
The largest great white on record, which measured around 24 feet long, would’ve had a bite force of 9,320 Newton (i had to look that up… it means force) at the tip of its jaws and 18,216 N at the back of its jaws, where the leverage is higher.
Coincidentally, the hardest biters also had the sharpest teeth. Nice.
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
The party’s over but the public dissection of a Great White Shark was apparently a big hit.
The event, put on by the Auckland Museum and the Department of Conservation, was the first of its kind for the Museum and was organized to raise awareness of the threats facing the Great White species. It was watched by a crowd of close to 4,000 people, both from bleachers and on screens inside the Museum, and was also watched live by over 30,000 people around the world on the Internet.
The procedure was carried out by Marine Scientist Clinton Duffy from the Department of Conservation’s Marine conservation Section, and Auckland Museum’s Marine Curator Dr. Tom Trnski.
The operation examined and measured the shark’s internal organs and stomach contents – which included the remains of fish, parasites, a fishhook and nylon wire.
Watch the video here.
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
Auckland Museum’s public shark autopsy will be webcast live so now we can all watch as the 10 ft shark is cut open and researchers examine its stomach contents, take measurements of internal organs, look at the gills and remove the jaws. Sweet.
The webcast will be available at aucklandmuseum.com. It’s slated for 11 a.m. local time on Jan. 8, which is 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 7.
[source]
"