Epaulette shark
Due to powerful tides, this teeming reef has become a series of shallow tide pools. An Epaulette shark is caught on the reef in the deadly Australian sun. Not to fear, this little shark has evolved ways to survive out of water. By shutting down its organs one by one, it can cope without oxygen sixty times longer than a human. And, if necessary, it can switch to survival tactic number two; it can use its fins as a pair of rudimentary legs to make its way back to the nearest tide pool, and the cool ocean water. This is the only shark that can walk its way out of trouble.
Source:
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/videos/a-shark-that-can-walk/
#coolcritters #sharks #biodiversity
In a few million years this species might look like the attached image. Hehe 😉
ReplyDeletehttp://pre01.deviantart.net/cb54/th/pre/f/2015/032/9/e/sharkman_by_aga_99-d8gb6v1.jpg
Beautiful cat shark.
ReplyDeleteI have cared for bamboo sharks in the past which are very similar to this species. Cat sharks often creep and cling, not swim, about the reef in a similar fashion to the shark in this video, while they hunt for food hiding in the nooks of the coral rock, so it's not so surprising at least one species has learned how to do it out of the water.
In the video you can catch glimpses of the texture of these beautiful animals skin you can't appreciate in underwater photography. A living shark feels like nothing else; like hard solid muscle wrapped tightly in a tough sandpaper skin--smooth to the touch head to tail and impassable in reverse.
Shark skin is covered with denticles, which are not like scales at all, but much more like extremely tiny teeth! Dermal denticles main function is to reduce drag through the water, but for cat sharks they no doubt also help the animal to grip the surface it is on as they creep forward as seen in this video.
Mark Gaiser your link is returning a 404 error. Ironic, because if we continue along the path we are currently on, NOT FOUND is exactly where sharks will be in a short time.
ReplyDeleteAdam Philippe Sorry for that. I guess the link got broken when I fixed a typo.. anyway, the link: pre01.deviantart.net - pre01.deviantart.net/cb54/th/pre/f/2015/032/9/e/sharkman_by_aga_99-d8gb6v1.jpg (just a Google image search for "sharkmen")
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post...thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the blue shark. Its nothing special amongst the large sharks, but the open ocean fish have always had a romantic air for me. Alone in the deep blue, hours and days spent cruising slowly and silently through the waves. It's always struck me as peaceful.
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