Page 67 - How It Works - Book of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, 12

---- Environment Q�
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4. Touch-at-distance
A row of fluid-filled sensory
canals on either side of the
body respond to changes in
pressure and movement,
helping it feel the presence of
objects in the water.

frequencies below 600
hertz, made by injured prey
and spawning fish, can
alert hunting sharks from
over one mile away.

great white can have anywhere up to 3,000 teeth jam­
packed within its gaping jawline.
The way in which this and its teeth operate accordingly
is truly remarkable. The great white shark has a floating
jaw, enabling it to hold onto its prey with the lower part. as
the upper jaw clamps down, tearing away flesh. Couple
this with great white sizes reported up to as big as 20 feet
or more, carrying weight of up to 2,240 kilograms, or
4,938lb, and that's one killer bite.
The great white's anatomy almost contradicts itself.
With a torpedo-shaped torso, it propels itself with its
powerful tail, reaching speeds up to 15 miles per hour.
These sharks move much like aircraft, less like
conventional swimming fish species. Yet this momentum
Amazing! he great white shark, orCarcharodon carcharias, is used at an advantage, and the great white shark shows
can only be described as the largest predatory fish strategy in swiftly surprising prey from below. This
WEIGHT: 5,0001bs T in the sea. But is this aquatic marauder as usually consists of inflicting a fatal bite, which will sees its
LENGTH: 13·23ft fearsome as the popular media would have us believe? prey either die of shock or massive body trauma.
SPEED: 15m ph It's certainly a species long in the tooth, in more ways It's apparent that this species of shark has evolved into
than one. Firstly each of its incisors is a perfect cutting a remarkable hunting machine, the bloodhound of the
implement. triangularly serrated on both sides. These can sea. The great white has developed the most diverse array
grow up to as long as three inches. Upon maturity an adult of sensors of any known predator.

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