Page 19 - Shark

anGel Gets GoinG
To lift its huge body off
the seabed, the angel
shark beats its tail back
and forth while tipping
its large pectoral and
pelvic fins for maximum
lift. Once off the sea
bed, angels propel
themselves forward by
sculling with their
tails, but they do
not undulate,
or wave, their
pectoral fins
like rays.

Midair Mako
Makos (pp. 26–27) are
probably the fastest
sharks in the sea,
reaching speeds
estimated to be 20 mph
(32 km/h) for a few
moments. When
caught on an angler’s
line, they leap clear of
the surface in an effort
to escape (above).
Their tails are the
same shape as another
fast fish, the tuna, and
like them they have
keels along the base
of their tails that
may give them more
maneuverability and
perhaps provide some
lift. They are active
predators, pursuing
mainly fish.

Lower lobe of angel shark’s tail fin (pp.
swell shark’s tail horn shark’s tail 36–37) is longer than upper lobe
Smaller than nurse sharks, at just The lower lobe of
over 3 ft (1 m) long, swell sharks the horn shark’s tail
(right) are sluggish animals, (pp. 40–41) is more
tail spending the day resting on developed than the
of a the seabed and at night swell shark’s. The
nurse swimming close to the tail of this 3-ft
shark bottom. Their tails are (1-m) long
Nurse sharks, barely held above shark (right)
at 10 ft (3 m) their midlines. is still held
long, are rather at a low angle to its
slow swimmers midline and it is a
and use their tails slow swimmer.
(right) for cruising
close to the bottom.