Sharks are amazing creatures that have earned a reputation for bloodthirsty and ferocious creatures that are best avoided. However, there is still something attractive in them. Large sizes, powerful jaws, original coloring, all this distinguishes them from other fish and makes them attractive in their own way.
The most beautiful sharks, as well as interesting facts that either confirm or refute your opinion that these fish can be considered killing machines, will be discussed today ...
By the way, some species of sharks have already disappeared, someone considers myths to be the stories about them, and someone believes in their authenticity.
1
Shark cyclops
The emergence of the cyclops shark can be called a serious genetic mutation, and the viability of such individuals can be doubted. But, as in the case of two-headed sharks, periodically reports that someone caught a shark with one eye flash on the Web. In evidence, photos are even provided. True, one can doubt their reliability. Today, with the help of Photoshop, you can not create such a "beauty"
2
Giant shark
The giant shark got its name due to its huge size. She is the second largest after a whale shark. An adult can reach a length of 8 meters. And when the fish opens its mouth, the width of its jaws reaches a meter. At the same time, having opened its mouth wide, the predator filters out small fish and plankton, which it captures. The fish looks very powerful and majestic. And if beauty and size would be synonymous with words, one could argue that this is one of the most beautiful sharks.
3
Decorative shark
If the beauty of sea and ocean predators haunts you, you can have a decorative shark in your aquarium. It looks very impressive, and its miniature size allows you not to worry that this predator can harm you. The standard color for sharks, recognizable body shapes, all this suggests that your real aquarium is floating, albeit a small, but predator. That's just regarding the possibility of its proximity to other aquarium fish, you have to think carefully.
4
Lumber shark
Just want to note that these fish have nothing to do with a fish saw. This type of shark is characterized by an elongated front of the head with sharp teeth. Moreover, the fish’s head is used as a percussion instrument to unbalance its prey. After a strong blow, when the coordination of the victim is disturbed, a sawtooth shark closes its jaws. However, despite the frightening appearance and characteristic tricks, crustaceans and small fish are interested in sawtooth sharks. They prefer not to hunt for similar ones in size. So, their bloodthirstiness is far-fetched.
5
Hammerhead shark
Due to the similarity of the shape of the head to the hammer, these fish were called hammerheads. Moreover, today science knows up to nine species of such sharks. The ridiculous appearance, as some think, is actually their advantage. Since hammerhead sharks have the ability to see objects horizontally and vertically in the full viewing range. From their attentive gaze nothing and no one will hide. Thanks to binocular vision, it is enough for the shark to turn its head a little, as it is already aware of what is happening behind it. The skin of sharks of this species is very delicate and exposed to ultraviolet rays. Surprisingly, hammerhead sharks can even sunbathe. Another feature of them, they prefer to stay in packs in the water, and not swim alone.
6
Great Pelagic Shark
The first representative of this species of sharks was discovered in the 70s of the last century. Until this day, science had no idea about the existence of such fish with a number of such small teeth. At the same time, predators, unlike their relatives, constantly swim with their mouths wide open, turning into a permanent filtering device that scoops up plankton, jellyfish and small fish. However, to see such a “beauty” is quite difficult. These are rare creatures. To date, no more than four dozen confirmed cases of encountering this beautiful fish are known. By the way, in one of these "rendezvous" fishermen from the Philippines managed to catch a large-mouthed shark and butchered it to eat.
7
Fox shark
This fish has a long upper caudal fin, which is half the length of the body of the fish. Despite its impressive size (an adult can reach six meters in length, and the tail fin will make up half of it), the shark prefers small aquatic creatures and small fish. When she hunts for fish, her favorite trick is to drive that one into a bottleneck where she can feast on the victim.
8
Luminous or cigar shark
Due to the structural features of the fish’s head, it cannot bite off large pieces of meat. Therefore, she bites into the flesh, twists the body of her victim in a circular motion, but swallows small pieces. A strange method, but it’s good that they are not perfectly owned by large fish. By the way, this species of sharks is classified as medium in size. The body length of an adult reaches hardly 0.5 meters. At the same time, sharks are distinguished by gastronomic illegibility. They gnaw everything that falls on their teeth. A whale, a rubber boat or a scuba diver passing by can all end up in the mouth of a shark. This species of shark is a camouflage pro. Thanks to a small bioluminescent spot on the body, under water it seems that the size of the shark is smaller than it actually is. But, as soon as the shark appears from the darkness, it becomes clear that it is not so small and safe.
9
The shark is fiery
Outwardly, it is very similar to a sea snake. Perhaps it was after meeting with her that the fishermen talked about underwater monsters living in the depths. But if you study this species of sharks closer, discard myths and exaggeration, you can find out that its body reaches a length of 1.5-2 meters, it is very mobile, which is not typical for other sharks. With its mouth wide open, the fish is unlike a beauty, on the contrary, it looks very belligerent. However, you should not worry about such a meeting, since due to the shark's addiction to hunting at great depths, the chances of such an acquaintance are minimal.
10
Goblin (shark)
The one who came up with the name of this species of sharks seems to have revised the cartoons. However, these fish are also called brownie sharks. Meet them is very rare, as they are deep residents. But today there is a lot of interesting information about these beautiful fish. The long elongated shape of the head seems awkward, moreover, it may even seem that because of it the shark cannot eat normally. But if you look closely, you will notice how the representative of the ancient sharks jaw moves forward. When a fish feasts on its prey, it uses this ability.
11
Helicoprion
For some reason, modern experts believe that helicoprions should be attributed to sharks. Whether this hypothesis is true is hard to say. But these predators lived almost 250 million years ago. They had a tooth spiral, and in parallel with old teeth, new ones grew in their mouths. More modern species of sharks lack this feature. Their teeth grow throughout their lives, replacing the old, fallen. In helicoprions, old teeth could be twisted in a circle, forming a jaw that looked like a spiral. The frightening beauty of these fish made them look like horrible monsters.
12
Two-headed shark
The fact that fishermen meet two-headed sharks is a lot said. But the fact of the existence of such fish has not been verified reliably by science. You and I can only theoretically guess what such fish might look like. And the fact that such beauties can actually live in the deep sea and ocean is doubtful.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru you can see interesting material about very unusual animals.
13
Carcharocles megalodon
Huge predators of the depths, whose body length could reach two tens of meters, were able to absorb up to one ton of food per day. Fish bites were stronger than tyrannosaurus bites. And a more powerful predator was difficult to find. These creatures lived up to a million years ago and, fortunately, are extinct today. True, the character of megalodon himself periodically appears in horror films and excites the minds of science fiction writers.
14
Blue shark
The name of the shark was due to the ultramarine, blue color of the body, which looks very unusual and beautiful. And if it were not for the typical shark head, this predator could be admired endlessly. Fish is a threat not only to the inhabitants of the depths, but also to humans, since it is not against enjoying a scuba diver or diver. Large individuals reach a weight of 200-250 kilograms. A slender torpedo-shaped body makes them very fast.
15
Tiger shark
One of the most dangerous and treacherous predators. Behind the slowness and bulky ability to quickly respond to the movement of the victim. And if a tiger shark notices something or someone in the water, then so simply it won’t lose sight of it. It is noteworthy that the younger the shark, the brighter the spots on the surface of its body. But over the years, the color fades, and the spots become less pronounced.
16
Whale shark
Measuring over 12 meters in length, whale sharks are the largest fish species in the world. Despite their size, whale sharks prefer to feed on plankton rather than humans. Whale sharks also catch fish and other animals, swimming, wide-open mouth.
Whale sharks prefer warm water and live in almost all tropical seas, although they are considered endangered. Fishermen and swimmers are known to ride these monstrous, but obedient creatures.
17
Mako
Mako shark is the fastest of all species of sharks and can reach an average speed of 35 km / h, although scientists have found one particular specimen traveling at an amazing speed of 69 km / h. These sharks can jump 6 meters high into the air. They prey mainly on fish and cetaceans.
Mako are active and aggressive, and are known to attack people. Like other sharks, their number is reduced due to large volumes of fishing.
18
White shark
The white shark is probably the most famous species of sharks. And this sharp-nosed monster, of course, has earned its reputation. White sharks are the largest predatory fish on the planet. They can grow up to 6 meters in length, weigh more than 2200 kg and swim at a speed of 25 km / h.
These predators can find prey with an incredibly keen sense of smell. They sense prey within a radius of 5 kilometers. In the arsenal of these beauties are about 3 thousand sharp teeth, which are located in several rows along their mouth edges.
19
Zebra shark
Zebra sharks cannot be ranked among the fastest, most aggressive or smart sharks, but they are definitely one of the prettiest. They are born with brown and white stripes that slightly resemble stripes of a zebra. As soon as the fish reach maturity, their stripes are replaced by brown spots.
Growing up to 2.5 meters in length, zebra sharks are very delicate in choosing food. Their diet consists mainly of shellfish. They suck their bodies straight from the shells.
20
Megalodon
The prehistoric Megalodon shark was the largest marine creature in the history of the planet. With 18 centimeter teeth and a bite force of 10.8 to 18.2 tons, this great shark was a serious predator. Since there are only a few scattered bones of Megalodon, scientists can not agree with the size of the animal, although there is consensus that a huge animal could be 17 meters in length and weigh almost 100 tons.
Megalodon fed on whales, dolphins and giant turtles. While the great white shark is considered the closest living relative of Megalodon, these fish have great differences. Unlike most sharks, Megalodon lived in all the oceans of the world. Although most believe that Megalodon disappeared for no apparent reason, some still believe that giant fish are still hiding in deep waters.
21
Californian trident shark
California tripod shark is a species of mustache shark that lives along the Pacific coast of North America. As a rule, the length of the fish is 1.2-1.5 meters. This thin shark is easily identified by its strikingly beautiful color, reminiscent of the color of a leopard. Leopard sharks pose virtually no danger to humans. There is only one confirmed fact of the aggressive behavior of this shark in relation to humans, and it is dated 1955. The meat of this beauty has a pleasant taste, however, sharks living near a person can accumulate in themselves pollutants such as mercury and pesticides.
22
Pacific plaque shark
The appearance of a prickly shark on this list is about as strange as its name. This small fish does not have an anal fin, but instead has two dorsal fins located at the end of the tail. The shark is covered with sharp skin teeth that protrude from the skin, like thorns on a rose stem.
By the way, about the most beautiful roses in the world on our site most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article with many photos.
These fish can be found in many parts of the Pacific Ocean. For example, in the waters of the Japanese islands, Taiwan and the west coast of the United States. Despite the fact that sharks live at depths of tens, and sometimes hundreds of meters underwater, industrial fishing still poses a threat to their survival. These spiky animals often become accidental prey for fishing vessels using bottom trawlers, gillnets, and traps.
Finally
Having learned more about the most beautiful and frightening sharks, you are once again convinced that it is better to read about them than to meet them. However, if beauty can be frightening and goosebumps, then this is just about our top 15 most beautiful and at the same time terrible sharks.
Article author: Olga Shevtsova