Bull Sharks
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordate
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Carcharhinus
Species: Carcharhinus Leucas
Phylum: Chordate
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Carcharhinus
Species: Carcharhinus Leucas
Morphology
Bilateral symmetry
Structure and appearance- The Bull shark is a massive shark that can reach a length of 3.5 metres and weigh more than 315 kg. The females are usually larger than the males. The body is compact with a snout that is short and broad which gives it a somewhat blunt appearance. The eyes are comparatively small and the body is without interdorsal ridge. The characteristic first dorsal fin is wide and has a triangular shape. It is usually 3.2 times the height of the second dorsal fin. The bull shark sports greyish colours above and a white belly. The fins have darker tips that are particularly visible in juvenile sharks. The upper teeth of the Bull shark are triangular and saw-edged.
Structure and appearance- The Bull shark is a massive shark that can reach a length of 3.5 metres and weigh more than 315 kg. The females are usually larger than the males. The body is compact with a snout that is short and broad which gives it a somewhat blunt appearance. The eyes are comparatively small and the body is without interdorsal ridge. The characteristic first dorsal fin is wide and has a triangular shape. It is usually 3.2 times the height of the second dorsal fin. The bull shark sports greyish colours above and a white belly. The fins have darker tips that are particularly visible in juvenile sharks. The upper teeth of the Bull shark are triangular and saw-edged.
Location
Biology
The shark's body is streamlined to swim quickly through the ocean and away from predators. It can swim about 22 miles per hour, and even faster in short bursts. Some sharks are bottom dwellers--they spend a lot of time at the bottom of the ocean--and they are camouflaged to blend in with their surroundings.
Facts
The female is larger than the male. The female bull shark weighs 500 pounds and is 5 feet long. The male bull shark weighs 200 pounds and is 7 feet long.
The bull shark's main food is fish. It will also eat turtles, birds, mollusks, crustaceans, and dolphins. The bull shark will also eat other sharks and rays. It will eat almost anything.
The bull shark can give birth to 1 to 13 pups. The pups are 28 inches (2 feet, 4 inches) long at birth. The older bull sharks protect the pups in bays.
The bull shark is known by different names. It is also known as cub, shovel nose, slip way gray, granges, nicaragua, and St. Squarenose. Its scientific name is Carcharhinus leucas.
This is one of 43 shark species that can live in both seawater and freshwater.
The bull shark's main food is fish. It will also eat turtles, birds, mollusks, crustaceans, and dolphins. The bull shark will also eat other sharks and rays. It will eat almost anything.
The bull shark can give birth to 1 to 13 pups. The pups are 28 inches (2 feet, 4 inches) long at birth. The older bull sharks protect the pups in bays.
The bull shark is known by different names. It is also known as cub, shovel nose, slip way gray, granges, nicaragua, and St. Squarenose. Its scientific name is Carcharhinus leucas.
This is one of 43 shark species that can live in both seawater and freshwater.
Vocab
Dermal Denticles – Tiny tooth-shaped scales that cover a shark’s body. Dermal Denticles have the same
structure as teeth - enamel, dentine, pulp, epidermis, and dermis.
Counter Shading - Having a dark dorsal or upper side and a lighter colored underside.
Lateral Line – A row of sensors used by sharks and other fish, which detect vibrations.
Cartilage – The materialthat makes up a shark’s skeleton (not bone), and is also found in our ears and
nose.
Basihyal - A sharks tongue, composed of a small piece of cartilage on the bottom of a sharks’ mouth.
structure as teeth - enamel, dentine, pulp, epidermis, and dermis.
Counter Shading - Having a dark dorsal or upper side and a lighter colored underside.
Lateral Line – A row of sensors used by sharks and other fish, which detect vibrations.
Cartilage – The materialthat makes up a shark’s skeleton (not bone), and is also found in our ears and
nose.
Basihyal - A sharks tongue, composed of a small piece of cartilage on the bottom of a sharks’ mouth.