Sharkopedia

I study sharks and share my passion to the world! I am NOT a professional! Just a girl who loves sharks <3

[sharkopedia]

African Ribbontail Catshark

African Ribbontail Catshark; Eridacnis Sinuans

I did my absolute best to find any information about them but it is so limited and rarely researched. I'll be happy to share what I found and if you have more info on them, please let me know!

Lifespan: ~14 years old

Weight: ?

Predators: Humans and bigger sharks

Diet: Fish, cephalopod, and crustaceans

Habitat:  inhabits depths between 180 and 480 meters in Tanzania, South Africa, and Mozambique

Behaviors: Adept at hunting, and avoiding predators

Breeding: UNKNOWN but it is ovoviviparous; meaning it can birth 2 young per litter

They belong to the family of Carcharhiniformes [Ground Sharks]!

Size: 37 cm in length

IUCN: LEAST CONCERN

Most that are caught are mainly male which suggests that females live at different depths! They are nocturnal and little is known about them

This is the only image I can find of them :(

They seem very cute and it's a shame that there isn't much about them. Hopefully, one day they study the little creature more and I could update this but for now, thank you for reading this and sorry for the VERY late post. I got caught up with personal stuff but I'll do my best to upload consistently and talk about sharks 24/7!

[sharkopedia]

Shark Orders & Families

We will be discussing the families of sharks! Every species has their own family, and it helps separate them from each other and what makes them similar too. I will not go too deep into since it can go wayyyy deeper than this.

There are 9 living orders of sharks and multiple families within them!

Classified 9 main orders divided in families:

Carcharhiniformes [Ground Sharks]

Characteristics: 5 gill slits, moveable eyelids which protect their eyes from injury, 2 spineless dorsal fins, anal fin, and wide mouth filled with sharp teeth

Species: ~270

Heterodontiformes [Bullhead or Horn Sharks]

Characteristics: 5 gills slits, dorsal fin with strong spine & flat rounded teeth in their mouth and big board head

Species: ~9

Hexanchiformes [Cow Sharks]

Characteristic: 6 or 7 gill slits, single dorsal fin, an anal fin, and thorny teeth. Doesn't have nictitating membrane which is a translucent eyelid that protect the eye

Species: ~7

Lamniformes [Mackerel Sharks]

Characteristic: 2 dorsal fins, anal fin, 5 gill slits and a mouth that extends past their eyes

Speices: ~16

Orectolobiformes [Carpet Sharks]

Characteristic: 2 dorsal fins, 5 gill slits, and short mouth. Some have patterns and barbels

Species: ~43

Pristiophoriformes [Sawsharks]

Characteristic: Rare and unique sharks! Saw-shaped snout edges with sharp teeth use to slash prey

Species: ~10

Squaliformes [Dogfish, Sleeper, and lantern sharks]

Characteristic: Large and diverse sharks, 2 dorsal fins, no anal fins, no nictitating membrane

Species: ~137

Squatiniformes [Angel Sharks]

Characteristic: Dorsoventrally flattened bodies which are adapted for bottom-dwelling ambush predation. Large pectoral fins, lack of an anal fin, eyes, and spiracles on top of the head, and two spineless dorsal fins located near the trail.

Species: ~24

Echinorhiniformes [Prickly/Bramble Sharks]

Characteristic: Stout, cylindrical body, covered in scattered, large, thorn-like denticle that be fused into plates, 5 gill slits, 2 spineless dorsal fins, no anal fin, and large multicuspid teeth

Species: ~2

(This one took me the longest to find information about so I could be wrong about this one, but I did my absolute best on it)

[sharkopedia]

What are Sharks?

When we think of sharks? Most people would think of the iconic horror film, "Jaws" directed by Steven Spielberg.

As scary as this movie was, this isn't how sharks actually act towards people. If anything, sharks are afraid of us more than we are to them. Lastly, this movie did negatively impact the reputation of sharks and even the director regret filming this movie since it impacted our culture around them.

Sure, they have teeth, sharp features, dark colors and black soulless eyes; they could pass on as a monster with this appearance but that's not the case!

Some sharks come in different shapes and sizes. There are over 500 species of sharks, and they fill an ecosystem role just like any other animal in this world. They may be scary looking, but any animal can be dangerous to us too as long as we keep our distance and learn what to do when we are in a sticky situation.

Even dogs and cats can kill us if we aren't careful!

They may seem pointless and no use to the world but that's further from the truth. Studies shows that they keep the population at bay by eating the old, weak, and sick animals. They help to keep the population at balance. By eating the sick animals, it helps other sea animals from contracting that disease thus, keeping that species alive.

Sharks even help with climate change too!

You might be asking, "How?"

Simple!

Sharks have this ability to store and protect on what's called, "The Blue Carbon."

Sharks hunt down fish and limit them from overeating the seagrass meadow, and kelp forests. To which are important because the ocean grass has a pivotal role for carbon absorption through photosynthesis!

By targeting the plant eating fish, they POSTIVIELY impacts the marine carbon cycle!

Aren't they such good creatures?!

Did you know that Sharks contains 15% carbon and when they die, they don't float up like other things. They sink to the bottom of the ocean (until some other creatures eats them) and they isolate that 15% of carbon in the sea floor!

Sharks are so crucial, and we need them more than ever. Due to bycatching, illegal shark finning, overfishing, and so much more, they become very vulnerable. Some only having limited species in the world. Before we think they are a monster, instead ask ourselves, aren't we the true monsters for allowing this? Without sharks, the ocean will suffer and we will suffer.

[sharkopedia]

Welcome to SharkOpedia!

I am just a 20-year-old woman who loves sharks deeply and fascinated by them. With this blog, I will be sharing on what I learn about each shark and my opinions on them! If I was incorrect about any information, feel free to let me know! I want to learn too, and I am also human so naturally I might make a mistake!

This is my very first blog ever, so I'll be happy to share myself for a bit.

I enjoy listening to jazz and vocaloid music

My favorite artist is Hatsune Miku, Ado, and random Jazz singers

My favorite shark is the thresher shark

My favorite food is ramen and alfredo pasta

Thank you for sticking around! I'll be sharing my next post soon!