Ocean of Hope

Category: 10 facts

10 Tiger Shark Not-So-Scary Facts

10 facts, Elasmobranchs, Sharks, sharks
notice the beautiful tiger-like stripes on the Tiger Shark photo by Edwar Herrano
notice the beautiful tiger-like stripes on the Tiger Shark photo by Edwar Herrano via Undersea Hunter Group

10 Tiger Shark Facts

1. A tiger shark’s stripes fade as he gets older.

2. Tiger sharks are the second most dangerous sharks to humans (after great white sharks)

3. Tiger sharks eat a variety of animals, including sea turtles (their teeth can crack their shells), seabirds, stingrays, sea snakes, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, small sharks and dead whales.

4. Tiger sharks will eat literally anything. They have been found with garbage, plastic bags, license plates and old tires in their stomachs.

5. Tiger sharks on average grow to 10-14 feet long(3-4.3m) (but can grow up to 20-25 feet long [6.1m-7.6m]) and weigh 850-1400 pounds (386-635 kg)(up to 1900 pounds [862kg]).

6. The only sharks larger than the tiger sharks are whale sharks, basking sharks and great white sharks.

7. Tiger sharks generally live alone, but when they do come together in groups they have a social hierarchy based on size. The larger sharks get first dibs on the food source, such as a dead whale.

8. Tiger sharks are killed for their fins, skin and meat. Their liver has high levels of vitamin A and are used in supplements. Their fins are used in the dish, shark fin soup.

9. Tiger sharks are considered “near threatened” (to extinction) on the IUCN Red List. They are just one spot above of “least concern.”

And the final tiger shark fact is:
10. A female tiger shark’s gestation period is 14-16 months, and she can give birth to 10-82 pups.
Also see:
Meet Deep Blue-The Largest Great White Shark Ever Filmed

Great White Shark’s Adventure at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

For more information: National Geographic’s Tiger Sharks
Shark’s World Information on Tiger Sharks
Tiger Shark Facts

10 Interesting Great White Shark Facts

10 facts, Elasmobranchs, Sharks
Great White Shark Facts: Photo credit: Elias Levy via Visualhunt / CC BY
Great White Shark: Photo credit: Elias Levy via Visualhunt / CC BY

10 Interesting Great White Shark Facts

1. Great white sharks are the largest predatory fish in the oceans.

2. The great white shark’s scientific name Carcharodon carcharias means ragged tooth.

3. The largest great white sharks recorded were over 20 feet long (6.1 m) and weighed over 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg).

4. Like all sharks, great white sharks have a “sixth sense” that detects electrical impulses such as your heart beating.

5. Adult great white sharks eat sea lions, seals, small toothed whales, sea turtles and carrion (meat from already dead animals). Young great white sharks eat mainly fish and rays.

6. Great white shark pups are 50-60 pounds at birth (22.7-27 kg), and 47-59 inches (120-150 cm) long.

7. Great white sharks are considered warm-blooded (like mammals) or endothermic. Their body temperature is warmer than the water surrounding them.

8. The only enemies of great white sharks are killer whales, larger sharks, and humans (who kill up to 100 million sharks of all species per year).

9. Recent studies suggest great white sharks use their excellent eyesight to spot their prey.

And the last great white shark fact is:
10. The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) considers great white sharks “vulnerable” to extinction (and not endangered-yet).

Also see: 10 Cool Shark Facts: Your Questions Answered!

Great White Shark’s Adventure at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

10 Interesting Mola Mola Sunfish Facts

10 facts, Fish
Mola
Mola mola, or Ocean Sunfish picture from Wikimedia Commons

10 Mola Mola, or Ocean Sunfish, Facts: The fish so nice they named it twice!

1. Mola mola are known because of their unusual shape: an upright flattened disk, tapered top and bottom fins between body and tail, and small black eyes halfway between its small pectoral (side) fins and round mouth.

2. Mola Mola Sunfish got their name because they like to lay down on their sides and sun themselves at the surface. They do this to stay warm and to get rid of parasites (seabirds eat those).

3. Mola Mola are related to pufferfish, porcupinefish, and filefish (same Order Tetradontiformes).

4. Mola Mola lack a swim bladder so they swim constantly (or move fins side-to-side to hover).

5.Mola Mola are the largest bony fish in the ocean!
Average length 5.9 ft (1.8m), 8.2 ft (2.5m) fin-to-fin
Max length 10.8 ft (3.3m), 14 ft (4.2m) fin-to-fin
Weight range 545 lbs (247kg) to 5,100 lbs (2,300kg)

6. A single Mola Mola can host up to 40 species of parasites. It gets rid of them by sunning at the surface and having seabirds eat the parasites, or by cleaner fish and other fish eating the parasites at cleaning stations, or by breaching up to 10 ft (3m) out of the water.

7. Ocean Sunfish eat mainly jellies, but also eat salps, squid, crustaceans, small fish, fish larvae and eel grass.

8. Mola Mola can swim to depths down to 2,000 ft (600m).

From Wikipedia http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/molalav.htm
Mola fry: notice the spikes all around it: photo by G. David Johnson


9. Ocean Sunfish can grow to 60 million times their birth size (0.1 in, 2.5mm), a record for vertebrates! As fry (babies that are part of the plankton), sunfish have spines all around their body that they outgrow.

10. Enemies as young include bluefin tuna and mahi mahi, as adults sea lions (who often bite off their fins and play with them), killer whales, sharks and humans (caught to eat or as by-catch).

Also see: 10 Fun Facts About Opah Fish, or Moonfish

See article from: Oceana’s Ocean Sunfish page

10 Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Facts: the Biggest Jellyfish

10 facts, Other Marine Animals
Lion's Mane Jellyfish facts
Lion's Mane Jellyfish photo by: NOAA

10 Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Facts: the Biggest Jellyfish

1. The Lion’s Mane Jellyfish is the biggest Jellyfish in the world. Its bell can reach up to 8 feet in diameter, and its tentacles up to 120 feet long (that’s longer than a blue whale!).

2. The Lion’s Mane Jelly lives in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Arctic Oceans.

3. The Lion’s Mane Jelly is bioluminescent (glows in the dark!).

4. Like all jellies, the Lion’s Mane Jelly has no brain, blood, or nervous system.

5. Like all jellies, the Lion’s Mane Jelly is 95% water.

6. There are 200 species of True Jellies.

7. All Jellies are radially symmetrical.

8. Jellies have no eyes, but rather eye spots that detect light and dark.

9. Lion’s Mane Jellies have nematocysts in their tentacles that they use to sting their prey. Nematocysts are barbs (sharp points) filled with venom.

10. A Jelly can sting you even if washed up on the beach so be careful! Jelly stings on humans can be treated with vinegar to lessen the pain.

Also see: 10 Jellyfish Facts for Kids
Why Jellyfish may become the “Cockroaches of the Sea”
Lion’s Mane Jellyfish from Oceana

10 Fabulous Sea Snakes Facts

10 facts, Other Marine Animals

Banded Sea Krait, sea snakes facts
Banded Sea Krait photo by: Cherilyn Chin

Note on picture: Sea kraits are sea snakes that go onto land, true sea snakes spend their whole lives in the water.

10 Fabulous Sea Snakes Facts

1. Sea snakes are reptiles and need to breathe air.

2. 50 different species of true sea snakes live in the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

3. A beaked sea snake venom is 4x more deadly than a cobra’s.

4. Sea snakes move by wriggling like an “S”

5. Most sea snakes are 3-5 feet (0.9-1.5 meters) long, but some can reach lengths of 8 feet (2.4 meters).

6. A sea snake can hold its breath for 2-3 hours!

7. A sea snakes spits out excess salt on its forked tongue.

8. True sea snakes do not lay eggs. The eggs develop in the female and the young are born alive.

9. Sea snakes have 2-20 young, around 12 inches long (0.3 meters)

And the last sea snakes fact is:
10. The few predators sea snakes have are sharks, moray eels, sea eagles (a type of bird).

Also see: 10 Fabulous Sea Cucumber Facts
As well as: Snake Facts-Sea Snakes and Water Snakes from Kidzone