Marine Biologists Record the Sounds of Sharks In World First

Amaze Lab

You’ve no doubt heard the sounds of dolphins and the song of whales. However, in a world first, scientists now say they have captured the first ever shark sounds.

Transcript

00:00You've no doubt heard the sounds of dolphins and the songs of whales, but now scientists

00:07say they have captured the first ever shark sounds.

00:10This is a rig shark, and this is the sound they were recently recorded making in the

00:19estuaries of New Zealand.

00:21Since the dawn of marine biology, it was believed sharks were silent predators, as they don't

00:25have any vocal mechanisms.

00:27However, after discovering that rays and skates, which are also part of the batoid

00:31family like sharks, make their own sounds, experts wanted to investigate sharks further.

00:36They found that small juvenile rigs never made sounds when free-swimming in the ocean.

00:39Rather, they only emitted this sound when being handled.

00:47Experts believe this could be a stress response to being touched, or it could be a hunting

00:50strategy, as the shark clicking resembles the sounds of shrimp.

00:54One of their food sources, they add that the creatures are likely making the sounds

00:57by snapping their jaws and clicking their teeth.

Category

Transcript

Recommended