#elasmobranchii

[every-day-creechur]

Twineye Skate Raja miraletus

Found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast of Africa. Raja are bottom-dwellers that are active during both day and night, and typically feed on molluscs, crustaceans and fish.

image by danijel1

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Greenland sharks?

Have you seen the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onMay 18

[catshark-cataclysm]

Animals less dangerous than what social media makes them seem:

Dolphins 🐬:

Due to the harmful internet trend of vilifying dolphins, a new urban legend arose claiming "dolphins/orcas are more dangerous than sharks". This is untrue, statistically sharks are the 2nd most dangerous marine animal behind jellyfish to humans.

Orcas have only attacked one human ever in the wild and zero wild fatalities. 4 deaths were caused in captivity however. 3/4 were just by Tilikum. There's 1 case of a wild pilot whale biting a woman's leg and dragging her under. Injuries were minimal however, it was likely play.

'Dolphin' attacks are rare and only in bottlenose and Amazonian river dolphins. Any aggressive incidents have been due to too much human interaction altering natural instincts, or because the animal was provoked. Only one wild dolphin caused fatality ever occurred, back in 1994, it was a provoked incident, drunken men were harassing the dolphin and attempting to put beer bottles in its blowhole.

Any claims of dolphins forcibly mating with humans have been debunked by multiple dolphin researchers (Bearzi, Gregg etc.). It's an urban legend. A few individuals showed arousal due to improper socialization caused by human interaction, but no intercourse occurred ever. Similar to how dogs or birds get aroused by people in certain situations.

Cassowaries 🦤:

Cassowaries hold the title of "world's most dangerous bird". But their threat level is greatly exaggerated. Ostriches also kill more people.

Only two human deaths by cassowary have been reported since the year 1900. There's only been around 150 attacks on humans total.

Cassowaries are typically shy birds, and pretty much all known attacks are provoked incidents, either defending themselves or their chicks, or territorial.

Chimpanzees 🦍:

Travis the chimpanzee is a tragic tale of a wild animal being treated like a pet going horribly wrong. In 2009 he attacked his owner's friend, mauling her face and body and blinding her before being put down by law enforcement. This sparked a media frenzy and created a fear of chimps in the general public.

Chimpanzees in the wild do attack humans sometimes, typically in territorial disputes due to human encroachment on their habitat. But as shown by Jane Goodall, chimpanzees in their natural habitat not being provoked or threatened by humans, are usually not a threat to people.

There are isolated incidents of chimpanzees kidnapping infants and young children, likely predatory as chimps do eat smaller primates. But such interactions are rare and usually unsuccessful. The number of fatalities caused by wild chimpanzees is uncertain, but in comparison to other mammals it appears to be quite uncommon.

Stingrays 🐟:

The level of danger posed by rays has been heavily dramatized after the untimely death of Steve Irwin. However Steve himself said that he would never blame an animal for his death, his fans shouldn't either.

Stingrays attack when feeling threatened, usually due to being accidentally stepped on by beach goers. However there have only been 17 recorded stingray related deaths in history. Most stings are non-fatal, and typically in the foot or leg.

Humboldt squid 🦑:

Despite the nicknames of "red devil" and "man-eater squid" Humboldt squids aren't as dangerous as they're claimed to be. There's no reliable documentation of any deaths caused by a Humboldt squid on a human.

Experts claim the only reports of aggression toward humans by Humboldt squid have occurred when reflective diving gear or flashing lights have been present, which can provoke a squid's hunting instinct.

[wikipediapictures]

Goblin shark

“Goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) scaled with a human” - via Wikimedia Commons

[mobulavermis]

Bathyraja abyssicola

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #849

Elasmobranch fish!

Fish of the subclass Elasmobranchii, like sharks and rays, have a large liver full of low density oils — they use this liver to maintain their buoyancy in the water column! The liver can be so large as to be up to 25% of the fish’s body weight.

[hasellia]

I can't believe O. megalodon took Dunkleosteus' big naturals 😔

[michael-rosskothen]

Prehistoric shark Orthacanthus Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: Prehistoric shark Orthacanthus - 2G7TY8G from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illust