Taking BIG bites

We all know that sharks are expert hunters but did you know they are also good biters? Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) have a group of muscles in their jaw that allows them to have strong bites no matter how wide open their mouth is. New research has shown that sharks may not be born with this expert biting ability and that it might actually develop over time. This study showed that teenage great white sharks are awkward biters because their jaw muscles haven’t developed to the point where they can hunt large prey.

great white shark
Photo Credit: Herman Yung

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-12/uons-tgw112610.php

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56 COMMENTS

  1. I didn’t know about the muscles in the sharks jaw! I know that some sharks have very powerful bites and that sharks normally don’t attack people unless they are disturbed or something else. I wonder what it’s like to be up close with a shark……I’ve only seen sharks on tv, over internet, in books, photos and in real life in aquariums but not in the wild. I really want to see one in their natural habitat!!!