{"id":6556,"date":"2014-05-23T19:38:49","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T19:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/costaricajourneys.com\/?p=6556"},"modified":"2017-02-06T13:16:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T13:16:44","slug":"sharks-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/costaricajourneys.com\/?p=6556","title":{"rendered":"Sharks of Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Brief History<\/h3>\n

\"GreySharks are among one of the oldest groups of animals that still exist today. They started showing up in
\nthe fossil evidence around 400 million years ago. The first sharks bore very little resemblance to what
\nthe modern sharks look like today. The world\u2019s modern sharks started showing up around 100 million
\nyears ago compared to 35,000 years ago in which we saw the appearance of modern mankind! Most of
\nthe fossil evidence comes in the form of fossilized shark teeth which are found spread across the ocean
\nfloor.<\/p>\n

Shark Biology<\/h3>\n

Sharks are different than bony fish; they have a skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone. Shark
\nskin is made up of a series of small overlapping scales called denticles. They provide the shark with
\naerodynamic movement through the water. If you rub a shark with the denticles it is smooth but
\nrubbing it the opposite way is like rough sandpaper. <\/p>\n

Sharks use a variety of senses. Their eyesight is not great and they only rely on this when they are very
\nclose to their prey. They also have a lateral line which primarily is a line that runs along the body that
\npicks up vibrations in the water at a distance. Their sense of smell is also incredible as it is proven that
\na shark can detect one drop of blood in 1,000,000 drops of water! All sharks also have sensory organs
\naround their head, making it possible for them to detect electrical fields. The hammerhead shark is a
\ngreat example of this where the hammer is loaded with these organs to enable it to hunt its favorite
\nprey, stingrays, which are buried in the sand.<\/p>\n

Sharks also have the most varied type of reproduction in the animal kingdom. While all sharks have
\ninternal fertilization, there are three different ways to bear the young. Many of the bottom dwelling
\nsharks release a capsule with the fertilized egg inside. The capsule is often spiral in shape which makes
\nit stick in crevices and it also protects the developing embryo. The most common form is that young are
\nhatched within the uterus and continue growing there until the yolk sack is used up. They are then born
\nas a true miniature copy of the adult shark. There are also a few sharks, like tiger and blue sharks that
\nhave the young attached to a placenta, similar to that of mammals. The pups are born fairly large and
\nfully functional.<\/p>\n

All sharks are hunters and eat anything from crabs to sea lions depending on the species, although fish is <\/p>\n

the staple diet for most sharks.<\/p>\n

Threats<\/h3>\n

There are a handful of sharks that are potentially dangerous to humans. We are not on the menu of
\nsharks but because we engage in water activities like spear fishing, surfing and swimming in areas where
\nthere are sharks, there will always be the possibility of a not so nice encounter. A yearly average of 100
\nor so attacks and less than 10% of this resulting in death on a world basis is statistically nothing. More
\ndeaths are attributed to people slipping in the tub (341), get struck by lightning (50) or attacked by dogs
\n(26). These numbers are from the National Safety Council and are for only the US and for the year 2000.
\nWe however make that up with interest as humans are responsible for killing over 100 million sharks a
\nyear, mainly for the growing shark fin soup for Asian countries. Many of the shark populations are down
\nby as much as 90% compared to 15 years ago and measures must be taken if we are to keep sharks
\naround for future generations. They play a vital role in the ecosystem and removing them can have dire
\nconsequences. <\/p>\n

More than 450 species of shark exist today and of these only a handful poses a potential threat to
\nhumans. <\/p>\n

Sharks in Costa Rica<\/h3>\n

Costa Rica has a diverse marine habitat ranging from rocky islands and outcrops, sandy beach areas, to
\ncalm bays and two large gulfs. The rocky islands and its outcroppings are favorite hangouts for sharks
\nlike the bull shark, black tip and white tip reef sharks and hammerheads. <\/p>\n

The chance of encountering a shark by accident is quite rare. You have to be extremely lucky to see
\none. If, however, you are diving in Costa Rica there is a good chance you will see some sharks. The most
\ncommon ones seen around the Pacific coast are white tip reef sharks and nurse sharks. The Bat Islands
\nin Guanacaste have a collection of bull sharks in the area as well. Hammerheads are mostly seen at Coco
\nIsland along with white tips, tiger sharks, Galapagos and silky sharks and the occasional whale shark.
\nCocos Island is ranked among the top 10 diving sites on the planet! Click here for more info on Sharks of Cocos Island<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/h3>\n

Thomas Jones is a marine biologist with a masters degree in shark reproduction. He moved to Colorado at the age of 6 and returned to his native country, Norway after high school to study. He took his masters at the University of Oslo and now lives in Costa Rica where he runs Bahia Rica<\/a> Fishing and Kayak Lodge with his wife Vigdis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Brief History Sharks are among one of the oldest groups of animals that still exist today. They started showing up in the fossil evidence around 400 million years ago. The first sharks bore very little resemblance to what the modern sharks look like today. The world\u2019s modern sharks started showing up around 100 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":6557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","category-marine-animals","last_archivepost"],"yoast_head":"\nSharks in Costa Rica<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A brief description of the biology and natural history of sharks in Costa Rica.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/costaricajourneys.com\/?p=6556\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sharks in Costa Rica\" 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