Are there any sharks in the Mediterranean? Types of sharks

The sharks of the Mediterranean appeared about five and a half million years ago. Yes, and the sea itself is relatively "young". For sharks it's just perfect conditions. This is the temperature of the water, and the food base. There are over 40 different kinds of sharks. Many of them reach 3 meters in length. A 15 - quite dangerous for humans.

Danger of sharks for humans

Despite the fact that many tourists come to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, they try not to talk about attacks on a person. The percentage of such shark aggression is quite low, and such cases are rare. There is an opinion that sharks in the Mediterranean often take a person for a fur seal or a mammal.

During the last century, 21 cases of aggression with a lethal outcome were recorded. In the rest, for a hundred years 260 attacks were recorded with more light consequences. Compared to other seas, this is not much. But all attacks were provoked directly by the people themselves. In many cases, sharks did not return to "eat" a person, and people died from loss of blood.

Whether there are sharks in the Mediterranean, we have already found out. Now we will consider which ones. The most common are the following: large, black-billed, black-spotted reef, bull, white, soup, sand, cat, spotted, mako, tiger, giant, gray reef, oceanic. Among them there are several aggressive species that are most dangerous for humans. These include a large white, oceanic, tiger, giant (hammerhead shark), gray reef, shark bull and mako. Here are the different sharks of the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey is also not completely safe, and there are often cannibals, cannibals, so you should bathe with caution.

Human danger for sharks

The attack of sharks in the Mediterranean Sea is a frequent occurrence, but still a great danger comes from man for them. Many species have practically disappeared, and five of them are on the verge of extinction. The shark hammer has not been seen since 1995. Each year, a huge number of these marine inhabitants are caught, and often they fall into the network, placed on a smaller fish. A catastrophic decrease in their numbers has been observed in the last 20 years.

Basically, sharks take only fins, and the rest of the carcass is simply thrown into the sea. As a result, the animal can not normally swim and dies in torment on the seabed, where it descends without fins. This method of catching sharks is called finning.

Carcharodon, or a large white shark

It is considered to be the largest and often reaches a length of six meters. At the same time, its weight can reach up to three thousand kilograms. In the context of the question of whether there are sharks in the Mediterranean, first of all it is the large white one that is remembered, but it dies out and is very rare today. These animals swim long distances. Most often they go to sea through Gibraltar, and many beaches because of them were closed.

What are sharks in the Mediterranean? Kinds

Let us consider in more detail the most famous species of sharks found in the Mediterranean.

Tiger

This shark was so called because of the bands that are located on her body. At great depths, it almost does not occur, mostly like shallows and beaches. It is considered a predatory fish and reaches up to 7 meters in length and up to 1000 kg of weight.

Oceanic

This shark has several names: it is also called long-winged and long-finned. It seldom swims to the shore, but recently this species increasingly attacks a man on beaches in Egypt.

On the question of whether there are sharks in the Mediterranean, one can say with certainty "yes", and the oceanic one is found there in abundance, it is considered a very large predator and can reach up to 4 meters in length. For the shipwrecked, it is a huge danger, because this is the type that attacks people most often.

Mako

Other of its names: gray-blue shark, black-eared, bonito, mackerel and blue pointer. It is very fast, and when attacked, its speed reaches 100 km / h due to the developed circulatory system, which perfectly nourishes the muscles.

She is quite aggressive and likes to appear in the coastal Mediterranean zones. Shark spends a lot of energy, so she is constantly hungry and eats everything that comes in her way. It often attacks swimmers, but its main food is mackerel, herring and mackerel, that is, schooling fish.

Hammerhead shark

It is often called gigantic, since it can reach 6 meters in length. It weighs almost half a ton. Her eyes are located on the outgrowths, widely spaced, but when looking for prey these sharks do not rely on sight, but are guided by electromagnetic impulses. They allow you to detect prey, which is not even in sight.

Often, asking the question of whether there are sharks in the Mediterranean, they mean a hammerhead shark. This species is, it has an amazing sensitivity of the receptors. On humans, this shark attacks rarely, and basically it happens if a person is in the zone of its reproduction.

Bullish and gray

Gray reef and bull sharks pose a greater threat to humans. Their size exceeds human growth.

Gray is very easy to fall into aggression, even from a small drop of blood or vibration. In this case, she tries to reach the victim. During the attack, she circling around her prey and arching her back, and the attack begins after immersion in the water when she opens her mouth.

Bull shark is the only one that can live even in fresh water for more than four years. It belongs to the family of tupory and has a very unpredictable nature. There are quite a few cases of her attack on people. She is fierce and able to drag even a bull under the water. In food, she is not choosy and is fully capable of eating human corpses, so people for her are just part of the diet.

Sharks are very visible in shallow water and are most dangerous in turbid waters. Often people are deceived by their alleged slowness, sluggishness, but they attack instantly. Sharks are hardy, stubborn and able to develop great speed when they hunt.