Great White Sharnks
...hored in the jaw, just in the gums. When the shark loses a tooth it can replace the lost tooth with a new tooth from another area. These teeth are triangular and serrated. They range in size from one to two inches long and each shark has around 3,000 teeth. These teeth are combined with the jaw to make a very useful tool, its mouth. The mouth is the image most people will remember about the great white. The mouth of mainly used for tearing through the flesh of the shark’s prey. The great white shark has a very strong sense of smell, probably the best in the entire ocean. The shark has fluid sacs on both sides called lamellae, which run the entire length. The walls of the lamellae are sensitive so vibrations as far as eight miles away can be heard! Another feature of the shark is lateral lines that contain sensory cells called neuromasts. Turbulence, current, or vibrations cause the neuromasts to tell the shark what is going on around it. The shark has twenty to thirty “freckles” on it which pick of the scent of blood and electrical fields. The freckles contain small ampullaes. This is advantageous to the shark, since every organism give off an electrical field. The circulatory system consists of a heart, with two chambers, veins and arteries similar to a human. The sharks have low blood pressure. In order to circulate blood through the shark’s bodies, so the great white must swim perpetually. A shark’s liver is made up of two large lobes that store oils and fatty acids, which act as energy storage and provide buoyancy. This liver can make up 5% to 25% of the sharks body weight, which is why the sharks can stay afloat. A unique eye structure allows dilation and contraction. The shark can barely distinguish colors from one another, so shape recognition is a necessary task for the shark’s brain. The shark’s top is colored dark and the bottom light, for when people look down from above the shark blends in with the background (as from the bottom). Propulsion is provided for by a swishing motion of the shark’s body and tail. It moves its body from side to side to slide through the water. A caudal tail gives the shark additional thrusts to pick up more speed. A great white shark has been r...