If there has to be an animal that I would always be fascinated with, it has to be the SHARKS and I'm confident that this sentiment is not uncommon. In fact we are so used to it that there probably are numerous cultural references where we see sharks in our lives from the Maui and Sons brand that features a logo of a Shark to the box office hit Jaws that focuses on you guessed it sharks! We even have Shark Week in Discovery Channel and I can go on and on. My main point is that we are familiar with the idea of sharks but what fascinates me more is that this top of the food chain sea predator possesses traits that are almost considered to be superpowers and in this article I'll list and elaborate them as they are a delight I kid you not.
The Reason why Sharks are Imba.
TLDR: Because evolution has granted them excellent traits.
Just a foreword for you people who doesnt get the word Imba, its a gamer term shortened for the word Imbalanced which refers to a certain character or a specific skill or trait that seems overpowered and that's what a shark is, a freak of nature that seems to have so much going for it. Multiple research even supports the idea that these massive advantages that they have has helped them survive multiple global scale species extinction and they have remained fairly the same with their ancestors since 160 million years ago. Making them a very successful apex predator honed and tested by nature and evolution. So lets get to it then.
Super Electro Sensitivity and Natural built in GPS
A common theme in movies is that sharks can smell your blood and that the soonest you bleed these sharks will circle you. Wrong! Sharks can detect you and may even circle you even before you start bleeding. When closely looked at the pinprick holes of the shark are a network of jelly-like pores called ampullae of Lorenzini. These sensory organs lets them detect electric signals that rival even mankind's modern equipment with some measurements confirming they can detect even a billionth of a volt per meter. So what to they use these detectors for? Well, it turns out that all living creatures have some sort of electric signals when their muscles contract or even when a neuron in your brain sends electric signals.
Sharks have also been known to swim for miles and not lose their way even when no sunlight is available to help them in the waters especially when they are deep in the ocean where little to no light gets thru the water. This has long puzzled shark experts as to how they are able to navigate like this with pinpoint accuracy. Most recent researches have concluded that sharks have a way to detect the magnetic field of the Earth thru a very sensitive part in their head called (you guessed it!) ampullae of Lorenzini the same way that these help them detect prey and mates these sensory organs also help sense electric fields in the water making them adept in their navigation even at the dead of the night
Built in Sperm Bank
A shark can traverse the ocean in large strides some even travelling an average of 30 miles per day which is an impressive feat in itself but the reason I brought this up is because of this long distance travelling makes the life of a shark a bit lonely and so mother nature has equipped female sharks with a built in sperm bank, a way for them to store the sperm of a male shark for months inside them to be used when they are fertile. This becomes very handy in their survival especially when a shark is all along with thousands of miles apart from the nearest male shark come mating season. In this way she is able to still procreate albeit on a later time.
If that was not enough some female sharks can even go self cloning called Parthenogenesis which literally makes them fertilize their own egg in the absence of a male partner. Studies have confirmed that a certain type of shark called the Zebra shark can switch from sexual to parthenogenetic reproduction as needed.
Auto Pilot Mode and Daredevil Hearing
Due to a shark's need to always filter thru water they constantly have to move otherwise they die, but due to the fact that its the vertebrae that handles some of the movements for swimming and not the brain directly scientists theorize that they are able to let their body swim while not being fully conscious kinda like an auto pilot for your Tesla car.
As if Nature was not satisfied with all those traits sharks even have super hearing capabilities that let them hear prey from great distances anywhere from 800 feat to as much as 3000 feet on some occasions, don't let the shape of its head fool ya their ear is inside of their head and as sound travels faster making it more advantageous to them.
Infinite Teeth Supply
Well this one is something of a common knowledge but its too damn good for me to pass up on. As if giving the shark razor sharpness enough to easily cut thru meat and bones Mother Nature has to give them an unlimited supply of it! Throughout the life of a shark lots of its teeth falls of by constantly feeding or even biting its mates and rivals and so these layers of razor sharp teeths are constantly regrown from the inner layer and then they constantly move outwards replacing those that fall of in the outermost layers.
Numerous researches are now looked upon on these regenerative property of shark and are compared to ours to see if thru this we can further unlock and enhance our own regenerative properties in our genes. With luck and persistence we may be able to use this for various purposes. Well, regrowing teeth is a pretty neat one so that we get rid of those costly and inexpensive false teeths but also in some form a regenerative and reparative purposes thru out the body. This may lead to a medical revolution.
To be continued?
Would you believe it if I say despite all of this uncanny abilities that almost makes this guy qualified to enroll in Professor Xavier's school, we are not even halfway thru the list. Sadly its not me but I feel that your attention span is almost up and it would be a disservice to these aquatic legends if we don't pay attention do we? So, why don't we call it quits for now and then we can continue this some other time. Ta!
Resources
As you know its not fun facts if I don't state my facts. Here are the pool of knowledge that the internet has blessed us about this topic
Super Electro Sensitivity | Natural built in GPS | ampullae of Lorenzini | Built in Sperm Bank and Cloning Machine | Auto Pilot Mode and Daredevil Hearing | Parthenogenesis Zebra Shark reproduction Switching. | super hearing capabilities | Infinite Teeth Supply | average of 30 miles per day
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