Scalloped hammerhead sharks take dramatic dives to hunt for food in cold, deep waters—and new evidence suggests they hold their breath to keep warm while they do so
A dramatic-looking shark holds its breath for about 17 minutes to stay warm during hunting dives in cold water, scientists have found.
Some fish such as bluefin tuna, great white sharks and swordfish have special muscles and blood vessels that allow them to keep their brain, eyes and swimming muscles warm even in cold waters—but scalloped hammerheads don’t.
The researchers found that the sharks were making steep, fast descents to spend a few minutes feasting in deep waters, then speeding most of the way back to the surface. The animals stayed warm until the point where their ascent slowed—on average, 17 minutes, Royer says. The team’s findings were published on May 11 in Science.
The team couldn’t monitor the sharks’ gills directly, although Royer says that in the future, he’d like to equip sharks with pectoral-fin cameras pointing toward the gills. But for now, the scientists think that the sharks are closing their gills—holding their breath, essentially—during their daring dives.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why some hammerhead sharks seem to 'hold their breath' during divesScalloped hammerhead sharks in Hawaii seem to limit the use of their gills during deep dives to prevent losing heat to their surroundings.
Read more »
Cold-Blooded Secret: Hammerhead Sharks Hold Their Breath To Stay Warm As They HuntHammerhead sharks 'hold their breath' to maintain body temperature while hunting in cold, deep waters, a strategy that may be common among other deep-diving marine creatures. Hammerhead sharks “hold their breath” to maintain body temperature as they hunt in deep, cold waters, according to a new s
Read more »
Hammerhead Sharks 'Hold Their Breath' When Deep DivingThe sharks close their gills to stay warm while diving to frigid depths.
Read more »
Hammerhead sharks clamp their gills shut to stay warm on deep divesSharks may not have lungs, but they can still hold their breath. As they hunt squid in deep water, hammerheads seem to avoid plunging body temperatures by clamping their gills shut
Read more »
Forget The Sharks: How '47 Meters Down' Fails Dive Science🔄FROM THE ARCHIVE: Breaking down the many, many inaccuracies in the new underwater horror movie.
Read more »
Sharks’ Karlsson joins select company as he becomes finalist for player’s awardNHL: San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson named a finalist for Ted Lindsay Award, given to the league’s Most Outstanding Player as voted by the NHL Players’ Association.
Read more »