🦈 Shark Trivia - Mind-Blowing Ocean Facts That Will Amaze Every Marine Lover

Q: The White Shark Cafe lies roughly centered between which two geographic points in the Pacific?

Guadalupe Island and the Hawaiian Islands

🟢easy

What is the typical number of gill slits on most shark species?

🟢easy

Which sense do sharks rely on to notice tiny vibrations through water using a line of cells?

🟡medium

What is the typical litter size range for a sand tiger shark in the wild after intrauterine cannibalism?

🟢easy

Which shark is famous for a saw-like rostrum used to slash schools of fish?

🟡medium

Which apex predator patrols the open ocean far from shore and has rounded pectoral fins adapted to endless cruising?

🟢easy

What organ helps sharks control buoyancy since they lack a swim bladder?

🔴hard

Which sea mount chain is a key waypoint for pelagic sharks moving between Cocos and the Galapagos verified with acoustic arrays?

🟢easy

Which shark can glow using light-producing organs called photophores in deep sea zones?

🔴hard

In what year did Australia list the grey nurse shark on the New South Wales threatened species schedule due to steep declines?

🟡medium

Which film released in 2018 featured a prehistoric giant called Megalodon terrorizing a research station?

🟡medium

In what year did the first documented shark attack on a human in New Jersey cause national headlines linked to four victims?

🟡medium

Which shark was shown in 2003 to use tools by employing coral to dislodge prey from holes on the Great Barrier Reef?

🔴hard

The earliest definitive shark scales appear in the fossil record during which geologic period?

🟢easy

Which feature constantly replaces itself in rows throughout a shark's life?

🟡medium

Which shark is named for two dorsal fin tips that appear pale and is notorious for long oceanic voyages?

🔴hard

Which US state recorded a series of bull shark captures in Lake Pontchartrain beginning in the 1990s?

🟡medium

Which annual island aggregation of whale sharks is centered off Isla Holbox in seasonally plankton rich waters?

🟡medium

Which shark has the highest known bite force measured among living fish in controlled tests?

🟢easy

Which shark is the fastest recorded swimmer with bursts over 40 miles per hour?

🔴hard

The holotype of Megachasma pelagios was caught near which Hawaiian island in 1976?

🔴hard

What is the measured tail beat frequency during sprinting in shortfin mako sharks recorded with biologging tags?

🔴hard

What is the average energetic cost of transport for a swimming reef shark measured in joules per kilogram per meter in respirometer trials?

🟢easy

Which shark species is famous for jumping completely out of the water when hunting seals near South Africa?

🔴hard

Which archival tag dataset revealed diel vertical migrations in blue sharks tracking the thermocline in the North Atlantic?

🟢easy

Which shark species is named for its white-tipped dorsal fin and is common on reefs at night?

🟡medium

Which shark shows a seasonal gathering off Ningaloo Reef coinciding with coral spawning events?

🟢easy

Which month is famously associated with Shark Week on television in the United States?

🟡medium

The porbeagle is most closely related to which lamnid based on genetics and morphology?

🟡medium

Which country banned shark finning in its exclusive economic zone in 2013 covering the largest area in the Pacific?

🟢easy

Which shark often follows oceanic ships and was historically feared by shipwrecked sailors?

🔴hard

The famous photograph of a white shark breaching with a seal decoy near Seal Island was taken by which South African photographer in 1996?

🟡medium

Which jaw suspension type allows great protrusion in most modern sharks enabling suction feeding?

🟢easy

Which shark often preys on rays and has crushing flat teeth suited to hard shells?

🟡medium

Which shark became the first fish to be listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1997?

🟢easy

Which shark is commonly displayed in aquariums for its calm nature and spotted pattern?

🟡medium

Which receptor system lets sharks detect gradients as small as billionths of a volt in seawater?

🔴hard

Which temperature sensitive ion channel in shark trigeminal nerves likely contributes to magnetoreception via radical pair reactions?

🔴hard

The White Shark Cafe lies roughly centered between which two geographic points in the Pacific?

🟡medium

Which shark species has the most extreme overbite with long needle teeth that interlock outside the mouth?

🟡medium

Which deep sea shark removes cookie shaped plugs of flesh from whales and tuna using suctorial lips and serrated teeth?

🔴hard

Which minimum size limit for porbeagle retention was introduced by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission in 2008?

🟡medium

Which shark is well known among divers at Cocos Island for schooling behavior with hundreds circling cleaning stations?

🟡medium

Which island group is famous for schooling scalloped hammerheads cruising along steep drop offs like Darwin Arch?

🔴hard

Which law in the United States closed loopholes by banning the trade of detached fins across all states in 2022?

🟡medium

Which shark species often raids turtle nesting beaches at night in the eastern Pacific including Raine Island?

🟢easy

Which shark uses tail slaps to herd sardines during bait ball frenzies?

🟢easy

Which shark is known for spending time in freshwater rivers including the Mississippi?

🔴hard

The denticle morphology that inspired early riblet film patterns most closely resembles which shark species skin?

🟢easy

Which shark has a bizarre protruding jaw that shoots forward to snag prey in deep water?

🟢easy

Which shark hunts with an extremely long tail used like a whip?

🔴hard

The shark repellent A 2 tested during World War II primarily used what active component?

🟢easy

Which shark is nicknamed a living fossil and has six or seven gill slits instead of five?

🔴hard

What is the recorded age at maturity for female Greenland sharks estimated from eye lens radiocarbon data?

🔴hard

Which Indo Pacific nation declared its entire waters a shark sanctuary in 2009 pioneering a regional movement?

🔴hard

What is the k value growth coefficient for male blue sharks in the North Atlantic estimated by von Bertalanffy fits in classic studies?

🟡medium

Which shark has the smallest known adult size reaching only about 20 centimeters?

🟢easy

Which shark species is known for migrating across entire ocean basins tagged from Hawaii to Mexico?

🟡medium

Which shark is known to pup in shallow mangrove nurseries in Bimini studied since the 1990s?

🔴hard

Which year did Hawaii enact the first statewide ban on possession of shark fins in the United States?

🟡medium

Which shark exhibits natal philopatry returning to its birth area to give birth years later?

🟢easy

Which shark has a blunt head, likes sandy bays, and often rests on the bottom during the day?

🔴hard

Which year did CITES include oceanic whitetip sharks on Appendix II to regulate international trade?

🟡medium

The thresher shark's tail can be what proportion of total body length in extreme cases?

🔴hard

What is the reported metabolic scope for juvenile lemon sharks at 28 Celsius expressed as maximum over standard metabolic rate?

🔴hard

The 2001 tag study that documented tiger sharks crossing the entire Hawaiian chain used which transmitter technology?

🟡medium

Which shark species is known to reproduce by parthenogenesis in captivity without a male present?

🟢easy

What is the approximate gestation period for a spiny dogfish female?

🟡medium

Which species uses a unique head shape to pin stingrays against the seafloor while feeding?

🔴hard

Which Pacific atoll hosts one of the densest grey reef shark populations measured with stereo video surveys?

🔴hard

The first described specimen of the goblin shark was hauled from which Japanese bay in 1897?

🟡medium

Which shark often preys on seabirds at the surface in the North Atlantic using swift lunges?

🔴hard

Which enzyme in shark rectal glands drives active chloride secretion central to osmoregulation?

🟡medium

Which shark has denticles so fine they inspired drag reducing riblet surfaces in aerospace testing?

🟡medium

Which shark was central to the 2012 documentary Sharkwater Extinction focusing on illegal trade networks?

🟡medium

Which ancient relative of modern sharks left spiral shaped tooth whorls found as fossils named Helicoprion?

🔴hard

The first satellite tag record of a basking shark diving below one thousand meters occurred in which ocean basin?

🔴hard

Which barcode mitochondrial gene region is most often used to identify shark fins in trade surveys?

🟢easy

What is the largest shark alive today by length?

🟡medium

Which documentary in 2006 tracked great white movements with satellite tags from Guadalupe to the White Shark Cafe?

🔴hard

Which research vessel first filmed a live giant squid with a deep sea camera array while also recording sixgill sharks nearby in 2012?

🟢easy

What do whale sharks primarily eat?

🔴hard

Which extinct lamniform had a scissor toothed jaw with opposing serrated blades and lived during the Carboniferous?

🟡medium

Which shark inspired the name of the NHL team based in San Jose established in 1991?

🔴hard

What total mercury concentration in micrograms per gram was reported as exceeding safe limits in some shark meat samples from Brazilian markets in 2010?

🟢easy

Which shark has cat-like eyes and is named for its speckled pattern along California coasts?

🟡medium

Which shark can pause breathing by pumping water over gills while resting on the seafloor in caves?

🔴hard

The maximum verified total length for a whale shark measured off Karachi in 1947 was closest to which value?

🔴hard

Which Mediterranean island group hosts a documented population of bluntnose sixgill sharks using submarine canyon habitats?

🟢easy

What is a group of shark pups born at one time called?

🔴hard

The largest verified white shark ever accurately measured by researchers off Cuba in 1945 was reported at what length?

🟢easy

Which body part do sharks use to detect tiny electrical fields from prey?

🟢easy

Which shark is known for a hammer-shaped head that widens its field of vision?

🔴hard

Which historic whaling logbooks provided early records of basking shark bycatch in the North Atlantic used for baseline reconstructions?

🟢easy

Which country lists the great white as a protected species in its waters since 1991?

🔴hard

The 2014 IUCN assessment listed which species as Critically Endangered due to collapse in the Mediterranean?

🟡medium

Which shark holds a verified longevity record of over 270 years based on radiocarbon dating of eye lens proteins?

🟡medium

Which shark got its common name from a pattern resembling the stripes of a zebra in youth that fade with age?

🟢easy

Which documentary series host popularized close encounters with sharks using a cage?

🟡medium

Which shark is known for biting chunks out of cable sheathing during submarine experiments in the 1960s?

🟢easy

Which shark is the second largest fish after the whale shark?

🟢easy

Which shark has a body length rivaling a city bus at over 12 meters in maximum size?

🟢easy

Which shark has distinctive vertical bars as a juvenile and a blunt snout as an adult?

🟢easy

Which shark filter feeds with a huge open mouth and often swims near the surface in temperate seas?

🟡medium

Which shark species uses head swinging and biting to scrape parasites from its skin on sandy bottoms?

🟢easy

What do researchers call the notch on a white shark's tail that increases thrust?

🟡medium

Which shark species holds the record for the longest confirmed migration by a tagged individual exceeding 12,000 miles?

🟢easy

Which film released in 1975 made beachgoers fear sharks worldwide?

🔴hard

Which Indo Pacific shark exhibits embryonic diapause delaying development after fertilization until conditions improve?

🟡medium

Which shark has the highest percentage of warm blooded endothermy among lamnids enabling high latitude hunting?

🔴hard

Which year did Paul Walker and colleagues publish the seminal paper estimating white shark growth rates using band pairs in vertebrae?

🔴hard

What is the measured red muscle temperature elevation above ambient water in active salmon sharks observed in Prince William Sound?

🔴hard

Which oxygen binding protein concentration in the red muscle of mako sharks supports sustained high speed swimming?

🟢easy

Which shark can regulate body temperature to stay warmer than surrounding water?

🟡medium

The distinctive pre caudal pits of a white shark are located near which structure?

🟢easy

What type of skeleton do sharks have?

🔴hard

Which coastal fishery in South Africa historically targeted soupfin sharks for vitamin A rich liver oil during the 1930s?

🟢easy

Which small shark can step across reef flats using modified fins and survive low oxygen?

🟢easy

Which shark is known for tight spinning leaps out of the water while feeding?

🟡medium

Which shark is frequently documented cooperating with groupers during hunts on Red Sea reefs?

🟢easy

Questions (120 of 120)

What is the typical number of gill slits on most shark species?

Which sense do sharks rely on to notice tiny vibrations through water using a line of cells?

What is the typical litter size range for a sand tiger shark in the wild after intrauterine cannibalism?

Which shark is famous for a saw-like rostrum used to slash schools of fish?

Which apex predator patrols the open ocean far from shore and has rounded pectoral fins adapted to endless cruising?

What organ helps sharks control buoyancy since they lack a swim bladder?

Which sea mount chain is a key waypoint for pelagic sharks moving between Cocos and the Galapagos verified with acoustic arrays?

Which shark can glow using light-producing organs called photophores in deep sea zones?

In what year did Australia list the grey nurse shark on the New South Wales threatened species schedule due to steep declines?

Which film released in 2018 featured a prehistoric giant called Megalodon terrorizing a research station?

In what year did the first documented shark attack on a human in New Jersey cause national headlines linked to four victims?

Which shark was shown in 2003 to use tools by employing coral to dislodge prey from holes on the Great Barrier Reef?

The earliest definitive shark scales appear in the fossil record during which geologic period?

Which feature constantly replaces itself in rows throughout a shark's life?

Which shark is named for two dorsal fin tips that appear pale and is notorious for long oceanic voyages?

Which US state recorded a series of bull shark captures in Lake Pontchartrain beginning in the 1990s?

Which annual island aggregation of whale sharks is centered off Isla Holbox in seasonally plankton rich waters?

Which shark has the highest known bite force measured among living fish in controlled tests?

Which shark is the fastest recorded swimmer with bursts over 40 miles per hour?

The holotype of Megachasma pelagios was caught near which Hawaiian island in 1976?

What is the measured tail beat frequency during sprinting in shortfin mako sharks recorded with biologging tags?

What is the average energetic cost of transport for a swimming reef shark measured in joules per kilogram per meter in respirometer trials?

Which shark species is famous for jumping completely out of the water when hunting seals near South Africa?

Which archival tag dataset revealed diel vertical migrations in blue sharks tracking the thermocline in the North Atlantic?

Which shark species is named for its white-tipped dorsal fin and is common on reefs at night?

Which shark shows a seasonal gathering off Ningaloo Reef coinciding with coral spawning events?

Which month is famously associated with Shark Week on television in the United States?

The porbeagle is most closely related to which lamnid based on genetics and morphology?

Which country banned shark finning in its exclusive economic zone in 2013 covering the largest area in the Pacific?

Which shark often follows oceanic ships and was historically feared by shipwrecked sailors?

The famous photograph of a white shark breaching with a seal decoy near Seal Island was taken by which South African photographer in 1996?

Which jaw suspension type allows great protrusion in most modern sharks enabling suction feeding?

Which shark often preys on rays and has crushing flat teeth suited to hard shells?

Which shark became the first fish to be listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1997?

Which shark is commonly displayed in aquariums for its calm nature and spotted pattern?

Which receptor system lets sharks detect gradients as small as billionths of a volt in seawater?

Which temperature sensitive ion channel in shark trigeminal nerves likely contributes to magnetoreception via radical pair reactions?

The White Shark Cafe lies roughly centered between which two geographic points in the Pacific?

Which shark species has the most extreme overbite with long needle teeth that interlock outside the mouth?

Which deep sea shark removes cookie shaped plugs of flesh from whales and tuna using suctorial lips and serrated teeth?

Which minimum size limit for porbeagle retention was introduced by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission in 2008?

Which shark is well known among divers at Cocos Island for schooling behavior with hundreds circling cleaning stations?

Which island group is famous for schooling scalloped hammerheads cruising along steep drop offs like Darwin Arch?

Which law in the United States closed loopholes by banning the trade of detached fins across all states in 2022?

Which shark species often raids turtle nesting beaches at night in the eastern Pacific including Raine Island?

Which shark uses tail slaps to herd sardines during bait ball frenzies?

Which shark is known for spending time in freshwater rivers including the Mississippi?

The denticle morphology that inspired early riblet film patterns most closely resembles which shark species skin?

Which shark has a bizarre protruding jaw that shoots forward to snag prey in deep water?

Which shark hunts with an extremely long tail used like a whip?

The shark repellent A 2 tested during World War II primarily used what active component?

Which shark is nicknamed a living fossil and has six or seven gill slits instead of five?

What is the recorded age at maturity for female Greenland sharks estimated from eye lens radiocarbon data?

Which Indo Pacific nation declared its entire waters a shark sanctuary in 2009 pioneering a regional movement?

What is the k value growth coefficient for male blue sharks in the North Atlantic estimated by von Bertalanffy fits in classic studies?

Which shark has the smallest known adult size reaching only about 20 centimeters?

Which shark species is known for migrating across entire ocean basins tagged from Hawaii to Mexico?

Which shark is known to pup in shallow mangrove nurseries in Bimini studied since the 1990s?

Which year did Hawaii enact the first statewide ban on possession of shark fins in the United States?

Which shark exhibits natal philopatry returning to its birth area to give birth years later?

Which shark has a blunt head, likes sandy bays, and often rests on the bottom during the day?

Which year did CITES include oceanic whitetip sharks on Appendix II to regulate international trade?

The thresher shark's tail can be what proportion of total body length in extreme cases?

What is the reported metabolic scope for juvenile lemon sharks at 28 Celsius expressed as maximum over standard metabolic rate?

The 2001 tag study that documented tiger sharks crossing the entire Hawaiian chain used which transmitter technology?

Which shark species is known to reproduce by parthenogenesis in captivity without a male present?

What is the approximate gestation period for a spiny dogfish female?

Which species uses a unique head shape to pin stingrays against the seafloor while feeding?

Which Pacific atoll hosts one of the densest grey reef shark populations measured with stereo video surveys?

The first described specimen of the goblin shark was hauled from which Japanese bay in 1897?

Which shark often preys on seabirds at the surface in the North Atlantic using swift lunges?

Which enzyme in shark rectal glands drives active chloride secretion central to osmoregulation?

Which shark has denticles so fine they inspired drag reducing riblet surfaces in aerospace testing?

Which shark was central to the 2012 documentary Sharkwater Extinction focusing on illegal trade networks?

Which ancient relative of modern sharks left spiral shaped tooth whorls found as fossils named Helicoprion?

The first satellite tag record of a basking shark diving below one thousand meters occurred in which ocean basin?

Which barcode mitochondrial gene region is most often used to identify shark fins in trade surveys?

What is the largest shark alive today by length?

Which documentary in 2006 tracked great white movements with satellite tags from Guadalupe to the White Shark Cafe?