Shark Essay

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A tale of mistaken identity: the ragged tooth shark (Carcharias taurus, Rafinesque 1810) and the story behind a misunderstood creature T. Ngcongwane, Dept. of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State: QwaQwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba, Kestell Road, 9999  (+27)79 964 7598  2010141469@ufs4life.ac.za Introduction “Shark! There’s a shark in the water!” Possibly one of the scariest phrases you will ever encounter when out on the beach for a tan or walk. That fearsome predator that has got people cowering in their swimsuits and leaving surfboards at home; it really does have a hold on humans. But it really never was like this...until a certain movie director decided to make a movie about sharks. This we’ll discuss later on in the essay. But undoubtedly one of the greatest animals on the planet, and some of the oceans’ foremost predators, sharks have been an oceanic force dating back to the Silurian Era (SharkSavers 2014) and haven’t looked back since. That’s over 400 million years ago! Not only do they keep ecosystems in check and control prey numbers from population booms (Griffith et al 2008), but also balance out the food chains in the ocean; making for a healthy ecosystems. And one such shark is the ragged tooth shark (grey nurse shark, sand tiger shark), scientifically known as Carcharias taurus. With the looks of a terrifying horror monster movie and a reputation of being one, the ragged tooth shark (raggy) is a firm-favourite in aquaria across the world, due to its ability to survive well in captivity, as well as being a tourist attraction in parts of Australia (Barker et al 2011). While the raggy is supposedly dangerous, it is in fact a docile creature and this essay will explore the reasons why the raggy, and al... ... middle of paper ... ...harias Taurus, Rafinesque 1810) in New South Wales, Australia. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 6: 1-20. RITTER, E.K. 2000. Sand Tiger Sharks. In: GODNECKT, A.J., GUEX, G.D. AND KINDLIMANN, R.J. (Eds.): SharkInfo. http://www.sharkinfo.ch/index_e.html (As accessed on 8 May 2014). SHARKSAVERS. 2014. 450 million years of sharks. http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/biology/450-million-years-of-sharks1/. (As accessed on 12 May 2014) SMALE, M.J., BOOTH, A.J., FARQUHAR, M.R., MEŸER, M.R. AND ROCHAT, L. 2012. Migration and habitat use of formerly captive and wild ragged tooth sharks (Carcharias taurus) on the southeast coast of South Africa. Marine Biology Research 8 (2): 115-128. TWO OCEANS AQUARIUM. 2014. Ragged-tooth shark – Exhibition. http://www.aquarium.co.za/species_exhibits/browse_species/ragged-tooth_shark/. (As accessed on 5 May 2014)

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