Shark facts
Short facts, and straight answers to things people say about sharks. Every one lists where we found it.
Short facts, and straight answers to things people say about sharks. Every one lists where we found it.
Super senses
Jelly-filled pores on a shark's snout, called ampullae of Lorenzini, pick up the weak electricity that living animals give off. They work over a fairly short distance, around a few feet.
Sources: Hawaii DLNR: Shark senses, Wikipedia: Ampullae of Lorenzini
Super senses
A scalloped hammerhead's wide head spreads its eyes far apart, so it can see nearly all the way around it. Its two eyes also overlap in front for 3D vision, more than in pointy-nosed sharks.
Super senses
Sharks seem to hear best at low pitches, roughly between 20 and 300 hertz. They seem especially drawn to uneven, wobbly sounds at the low end, like the splashing of a struggling fish.
Sources: Hawaii DLNR: Shark senses, Shark Trust: Shark senses
Super senses
Sharks have a lateral line, a row of tiny pores running from the snout all the way to the tail. Special cells inside feel water flowing past, which helps a shark notice fish swimming nearby.
Sources: Shark Trust: Shark senses, Hawaii DLNR: Shark senses
Super senses
Many sharks have a layer of reflective crystals behind the retina, called the tapetum lucidum. It bounces light back for a second chance to be seen, which helps in dim water.
Sources: Oceana: Shark and ray eyes, Shark Trust: Shark senses
Super senses
Many sharks have a brain size for their body size that is comparable to birds and mammals. Scientists who study hundreds of shark brains can even guess a shark's senses and behaviour from the shape of its brain.
Super senses
Sharks have a very good sense of smell, but tests in Florida found it is no better than a typical fish's. The famous idea that a shark can smell one drop of blood in an Olympic pool was not supported.
Super senses
Turn certain sharks upside down and they go still and floppy, a state called tonic immobility. A 2025 study found that only some species do it, and nobody has proven what the freeze is for.
Sources: James Cook University: 'Playing dead' overrated for sharks and rays