Jaws all over again
Did you see the video of the Surf Championships where Mick Fanning on the surfboard got attacked by a shark?
I suppose it is a chance you take if you spend most of your time in the sea but I also suspect you think it will never happen to you or perhaps you never really think about it just in case?
“I’m doing OK - it sort of goes through waves,” he said. “To walk away from a shark attack with not a scratch on you, it’s a miracle really. It’s just sort of more a mental and emotional trauma right now. It will probably take a couple of weeks and months to get over. I don’t know how long it’s going to take … I’m sure I’ll go back out.”
All scary stuff really and got me thinking about sharks and their teeth.
So here are my top ten shark teeth facts:
- Shark teeth are not attached to gums on a root like our teeth.
- Sharks typically lose at least one tooth per week
- Sharks lose their teeth because they may become stuck in prey or broken and forced out
- Shark teeth are arranged in neat conveyor belt rows and can be replaced within a day of losing one
- Sharks average out to 15 rows of teeth in each jaw. Although most have 5 and then there is the bull shark that has 50 rows of teeth
- Shark teeth are popularly found as beach treasures because sharks shed 1000s of teeth in a lifetime. Although, don’t get yourself in trouble if you decide to collect them. Recently, over 2,400 shark teeth were confiscated from a passenger in India (shark teeth are an illegal import prohibited under the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972)
- A shark’s tooth shape is dependent upon its diet. For instance, the shortfin mako razor like teeth tear flesh, the tiger shark has piercing teeth to cut flesh, and the zebra shark has dense flattened teeth because it feasts upon mollusks
- The tooth of the megalodon range from 31/2 – 7 inches long and can weigh more than a pound
- Shark teeth were recently discovered to contain fluoride, are equally as hard as human teeth, and have dentin inside them just like us
- Sharks do not suffer from cavities, the coating of their teeth is acid resistant and less water soluble than our teeth
Oh and if you want to know what to do if you get attacked by a shark read more here
It's Jaws all over again perhaps?
