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Nuchal shell: hard plate that forms the shell of the tortoise close to the nape of the
neck
Marginal shell: each of the scales that form the edge of the tortoise’s shell
Figure 1 shows the areas of a seahorse and the terms used to describe them. The
front view of a seahorse, looking into its face or belly, is the ventral orientation.
The view from behind the seahorse is its dorsal orientation. The side view, used
here in the illustrations, is referred to as the lateral orientation. The lower parts,
or the lower section of any parts, are called the posterior, and the upper parts, the
anterior.
Trunk ridges are the vertical spines running down the back of the seahorse from
trunk to tip of tail (the superior trunk ridge), the spine running down each side of
the seahorse trunk (the lateral trunk ridge), and the spine running along each
side of the keel from neck to anal fin (the inferior trunk ridge).
The seahorse's means of propulsion are its pectoral fin, located just behind the
gill opening, and its dorsal fin, which joins the trunk at the tail. Tail rings are
counted from the ring just below the anal fin to the ring before the tip of the tail.
All seahorses have independently orbital eyes, and a pair of pectoral fins
immediately behind the gill opening.
Some species of seahorses have spindly appendages, called cirri, in the area of the
facial spines and trunk ridges.
SHARK
All the creatures living under water have certain characteristics in common. They all need a
way to get oxygen. They all need to reproduce to make sure their species continues. They all
need to eat to live. But each species also has special features which are unique.
Sharks have highly sensitive senses, a special liver which helps them to float, several rows
of teeth, and eyes which aren't so different from yours. Like rays, shark skeletons are made
of cartilage. The shape of a shark is specially designed to help it navigate long distances and
maneuver around its prey with ease. Its several pairs of fins help it navigate through the
water, kind of like our legs get us humans around, and our arms help us keep our balance.
A shark has several pairs of gills on either side of its head, unlike other fish who
only have one gill on each side. You probably breathe through your nose and
mouth, but a shark only uses its nostrils for smelling. When peo ple don't want
to be seen by their enemies they sometimes wear fatigue suits. Sharks are born
with their own special colors to protect them from predators above and below
them in the water.
Skeleton
The bones of a fish are made mostly of calcium, but a shark doesn't really have any bones. A
shark skeleton is made of cartilage. Bony fish have a gas-filled swim bladder which enables
them to float in the water, but sharks have no such bladder. Since cartilage is lighter than
bone, it helps to keep a shark from just sinking to the bottom of the ocean. A shark doesn't
have as many moveable parts as a bony fish, which in some ways makes a shark a little more
clumsy. But cartilage is more flexible than bone, so a shark can turn around in a smaller
space than a bony fish. Sharks keep growing cartilage as long as they live, and have extra
mineral deposits in their jaws where they need extra strength, (the better to bite you with).
Shape
When engineers came up with the shape of a DC-9 airplane, they were thinking about the
fastest way to travel using the least amount of energy. If you compare the DC-9 to a shark,
you will see that their shapes are amazingly similar. They both have round bodies tapering
off at both ends. This shape allows the plane to glide through the air, and the shark to glide
through the water, without using up all their fuel before they get where they want to go.
Coloration
Sharks are generally a dark color on top, which is called their dorsal side, and a light color
on the bottom, which is called their ventral side. Predators looking down might not see the
dark top of the countershaded shark, because it blends in with the dark ocean depths. But if
a predator looks up from below, the light bottom of the shark blends in with the lighter
surface of the sea where the sun shines. Either way, the shark manages very well to blend in
with its environment and avoid being seen when it doesn't want to be seen.
Nostrils
Sharks do have noses, but they only use them for smelling, not for breathing. You'll find their
pair of nostrils on the underside of their snouts. Some species, like the Nurse Shark, even
have some extra smellers called nasal barbels, which stick out near the nostrils and mouth.
Ampullae of Lorenzini
These are electroreceptive organs. The ampullae are jelly-filled pores shaped like ampullae
(clay jars used by the Romans and others to store grain, oil, and wine). The function of these
organs was not discovered until fairly recently. They are electr ical field sensing devices, and
as everything living produces an electrical field, the shark can detect the presence of
another living creature even if all its other senses were deactivated. The ampullae are
distributed around the head, and the external openings and are large enough to be seen
with the naked eye.
In an experiment, a group of sharks and rays were trained to eat in an area directly over
a pair of electrodes buried in the sand bottom. When the sharks were fed fish, the
current was turned on and emitted four-tenths of a microvolt. Then when the food was
withheld, but the current turned on, the sharks and rays swarmed about the electrodes,
uncovering them and snapping at them Thus it was shown that the animals could sense
minute charges of electricity and could trace it to its source.
Fins
Sharks, as all fish, use their body and tail in a side to side motion to move through the water.
Shark fins are rigid not flexible, and are supported by rods made of cartilage. Sharks have
five different kinds of fins.