Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Selachimorpha
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Sphyrnidae
Genus: Sphyrna
Species:S. lewini
Common name: Scalloped hammerhead shark
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Selachimorpha
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Sphyrnidae
Genus: Sphyrna
Species:S. lewini
Common name: Scalloped hammerhead shark
Morphology
Symmetry: Bilateral
Structure: Eyes and nostrils on the tip of the extensions of its head
Appearance: heteroceral fin and an elongated head
Structure: Eyes and nostrils on the tip of the extensions of its head
Appearance: heteroceral fin and an elongated head
Biology
Sharks can detect weak electrical fields using electrical sense organs called the ampullae of Lorenzini.
Form schools to feed and disperse at night to feed in deeper waters
Form schools to feed and disperse at night to feed in deeper waters
Importance
economical - Scalloped Hammerheads are commercially valued for their meat - which is used fresh, smoked, dried, and salted - as well as for their fins, hides, and liver oil. Their jaws, teeth, and backbones are often sold as curios. But Scalloped Hammerheads need not be killed to have value: in places such as San Salvador, Borneo, the Galapagos, Cocos Island, and the Sea of Cortez, schools of these sharks attract thousands of diving tourists each year, injecting millions of much-needed dollars into the local economy.
ecological- Scalloped hammerheads have mutualistic symbioses with several species of cleaner fish, allowing wrasses and blennies to remove external parasites from their skin, gills, and mouths. Scalloped hammerheads are among the largest of reef sharks, making them top predators of the animals on which they prey.
ecological- Scalloped hammerheads have mutualistic symbioses with several species of cleaner fish, allowing wrasses and blennies to remove external parasites from their skin, gills, and mouths. Scalloped hammerheads are among the largest of reef sharks, making them top predators of the animals on which they prey.
Facts
- The shark gets its name from the Greek word sphyrna which translates to hammer.
- It is suggested that the shape of their head helps them to swim, like a birds wings help them fly.
- They give birth to live young.
- They don't sleep. They swim continuously from birth to death.
- It is thought they breed every other year.
- It is suggested that the shape of their head helps them to swim, like a birds wings help them fly.
- They give birth to live young.
- They don't sleep. They swim continuously from birth to death.
- It is thought they breed every other year.
Vocabulary
Cartilaginous fish- fish that have cartilage instead of bone.
Caudal fin- tail
heteroceral- upper lobe is longer than the bottom lobe.
dorsal fin- fins on the top of the shark.
pectoral fin- fin on the side of the shark.
Caudal fin- tail
heteroceral- upper lobe is longer than the bottom lobe.
dorsal fin- fins on the top of the shark.
pectoral fin- fin on the side of the shark.
Resources
-Wikipedia- hammerhead shark
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammerhead_shark
- Biology of sharks and rays
http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/shark_profiles/hammerhead_faq.htm
Animal diversity web-
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sphyrna_lewini/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammerhead_shark
- Biology of sharks and rays
http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/shark_profiles/hammerhead_faq.htm
Animal diversity web-
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sphyrna_lewini/
Humpback Angler fish
Classification
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Family: Melanocetidae
Genus: Melanocetus
Species: M. johnsonii
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Family: Melanocetidae
Genus: Melanocetus
Species: M. johnsonii
Morphology
Symmetry- bilateral
Structure- lure
Appearance- rounded and ugly with a large jaw
Structure- lure
Appearance- rounded and ugly with a large jaw
Biology
Importance
ecological- keep other fish populations in check.
economical- we spend money for research (tagging and tracking).
economical- we spend money for research (tagging and tracking).
- Male humpback anglerfish only reach a little over an inch long, and females get to be over 7 inches.
- They live their entire life in the absence of sunlight.
- They're only found in water at least 6,600 feet deep
- Male anglerfish are almost parasitic to females because their whole life goal is to find a female mate because food is hard to get on their own.
- The anglerfish uses bioluminescence in its lure to produce a green-blue light similar to a firefly on land.
- They live their entire life in the absence of sunlight.
- They're only found in water at least 6,600 feet deep
- Male anglerfish are almost parasitic to females because their whole life goal is to find a female mate because food is hard to get on their own.
- The anglerfish uses bioluminescence in its lure to produce a green-blue light similar to a firefly on land.
Vocabulary
- bioluminescence- the biochemical emission of light by living organisms such as fireflies and deep-sea fishes.
- bathypelagic- (of fish and other organisms) inhabiting the deep sea where the environment is dark and cold, approximately 3,300–9,800 feet (1,000–3,000 m) below the surface.
- parasitic- habitually relying on or exploiting others.
- predation- the preying of one animal on others.
- sexual dimorphism- the condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs themselves.
- bathypelagic- (of fish and other organisms) inhabiting the deep sea where the environment is dark and cold, approximately 3,300–9,800 feet (1,000–3,000 m) below the surface.
- parasitic- habitually relying on or exploiting others.
- predation- the preying of one animal on others.
- sexual dimorphism- the condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs themselves.
Resources
- Wikipedia- humpback anglerfish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpback_anglerfish
- Ocean animal encyclopedia
http://oceana.org/marine-life/ocean-fishes/humpback-anglerfish
-Bioweb: Humpback angler fish
https://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/f2013/pitney_ryan/nutrition.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpback_anglerfish
- Ocean animal encyclopedia
http://oceana.org/marine-life/ocean-fishes/humpback-anglerfish
-Bioweb: Humpback angler fish
https://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/f2013/pitney_ryan/nutrition.htm