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There’s one word you never want to hear at the beach: “Shark!” Actually, shark attacks are very rare. You’re far morę likely to be killed by a charging hippo. Sharks are incredible killing machines, though, and they’ve been terrorizing the oceans for around 400 million years.

Why are sharks so scary?

Seven secrets of How to: attack like a great wbite shark shark success

01: Variety: There are morę than 400 shark species.

02: Movement: The shark’s taił and fins propel it through the water at 22 mph (35 kph) or morę.

03: Size: A large body can power through the water ąuicker than a smali one.

04: Drag reduction: The

skin has toothlike scales (denticles) that channel water over the body.

05: Senses: As well as

smell, sight, hearing, and taste, sharks can detect movement and electric signals given off by prey.

06: Teeth: Razor-sharp, they include thin ones for slicing fish and jagged ones for tearing off chunks of seal flesh.

07: Jaws: These are loose and can push out to take a bigger bite.

Circle your prey—then come at it from beneath. The sheer force will thrust you both out of the water.

\J mm m With the seal (or fish) safely trapped in your jaws, you can deliver your killer bite in midair.

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The shortfin mąko is the cheetah among sharks^ It “sprints” at speeds ot

up to 31 mph (50 kph).

Thisburstofspeed

enablesittocatchfast

_ prey such as tuna.

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Four oddballs

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The megamouth is

a 18-ft- (5.5-m-) long monster. Like whale and basking sharks, it filter feeds, sieving prey from the water.

It’s not just its strange head that makes a hammerhead so

unusual. Females can reproduce without mating!

The long, eel-like frilled shark closely resembles early sharks. The first sharks appeared around 400 million years ago—before dinosaurs!

The longnose sawshark

lives up to its name! It uses its “saw" to slash at schools of fish, or to rummage in the sandy seabed for shellfish.

(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. Ali Rights Reserved.

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A shark’s teeth are

constantly being lost. They’re replaced by new ones growing in a row behind them, which are always brand new and at the ready!

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