Whether it was in a documentary, a movie, a printed material, or in reality, you probably have seen sharks in different forms and might have learned a few things about this aquatic animal. If you are into design, there’s a big chance that you’ll, at some point, make use of shark clip art for different reasons.
If you’re here because you need shark clip art for different reasons, you’ll find everything you need in this article. However, before we continue everything about shark clip art, you need to know some key things about the large aquatic animal.
This article will also show you all you wanted to know about sharks but couldn’t ask anyone. Read on to find out more.
Everything To Know About Sharks
A lot of people quiver in fear whenever they hear sharks mentioned around. Imagine going for a swim with your friends, and while in the water, someone screams out, “SHARK!” Such an action would trigger great panic between you and your friends, and everyone would start to swim to safety.
Sharks are ancient beings, and they’ve been around even before dinosaurs, which is why they are considered to be the most fascinating water creature. This leaves one to wonder why they instill fear and attract such stigma.
To understand better, we’ve put together everything to know about sharks. After reading, you’ll be able to determine whether to really fear them or not.
Is a Shark a Mammal or a Fish?
Before anything else, the most important thing that you should know is that sharks are fish. Due to the size of some of the shark species, a lot of people tend to mistake them for mammals, but they are in fact fish. You can call them big fishes.
But how do you determine whether a shark is a fish and not a mammal? When you look at them closely, one of the first things you’ll notice is their gills which are on the side of their body and in front of the pectoral fins. Like with other fishes, the gills take water and force it through tine vessels. The vessels then absorb the oxygen in the water so that the sharks can breathe in water.
Sharks are among some of the largest fish species in our oceans, and the biggest of the is the whale shark. The fishes are so large that they grow as long as 10 meters and weigh more than 19 tons which are about the size of 15 Ford Fiestas.
Other large shark species are the megamouth sharks and the basking sharks. On the other hand, the smallest shark species is the dwarf lantern shark, which is only 6 inches in length.
How Many Species of Sharks are There?
We mentioned some large and small species above, and you might start to wonder how many shark species are there. Well, there are more than 1,000 shark species around the world, and more of these creatures are discovered from time to time.
This is because of the continuous increase in our understanding of the oceans and seas, as well as different technological advancements over the years. It further makes it certain that more shark species will be discovered in the nearest future.
Despite that, it’s important to note that there has been a steady decline in the number of sharks across the world. That’s the main reason why organizations like WWF are seriously campaigning and putting in efforts to protect sharks.
One thing to note is that all species of sharks have a key role to play in marine ecosystems, and they help to balance the order of the ecosystems.
One of the reasons why we try to broaden our understanding of sharks is so that we can help their large numbers return once more.
What do Sharks Eat?
Sharks can feed on anything because they are opportunistic feeds. Therefore they can eat small fish, seals, invertebrates, whale carcasses, sea birds, and penguins. Sharks have different ways of detecting their prey, even from a distance. They can detect their prey through smell, vibration, sound, and sight.
It’s important to note that a shark can pick up the mile of blood even if it’s about a mile away. It’s safe to think that sharks can eat bigger prey, especially the larger sharks, but that’s not always the case. Even though a shark-like the great white can easily pick up large species like leopard seal, whales and basking sharks are filter feeders and feed on microscopic plankton.
There are different shark movies today that give contrary opinions about what they eat. For example, in movies like Jaws, or Deep Blue Sea, you’ll want to think that sharks eat humans. However, that’s not the case, and sharks would always prefer to stay away. They only attack when they feel threatened or confused.
Do Sharks Lay Eggs?
Not all sharks lay eggs. Some actually give birth to live young ones. This is known as ovoviviparity or viviparity. In fact, there are more sharks that give birth to their young ones alive than those that lay eggs. It’s generally different with each species.
For example, with the whale shark, ovoviviparity is the case. The sharks produce eggs, but they do not lay them. The egg is hatched within its body and comes out after they’ve gotten to a particular size.
On the other hand, viviparity is used in referring to cases where sharks release a capsule that contains the egg and a yolk sac. It also has tendrils which are an anchor for the capsule to reach the seabed. The young shark hatches in the capture and gets nutrients from the yolk sac before it emerges.
For sharks like shortfin mako, it’s a completely different case which is called oophagy. In this case, the embryos eat the unfertilized eggs in the sharks before the babies are released.
The bottom line is that sharks lay eggs, but it differs among species. This is also a feature that makes them really fascinating.
How Long Do Sharks Live?
This is also different with each specie of shark. However, a vast majority of the species can live for as long as 20 to 30 years. The size also has a role to play in how long they live. One of the oldest known species of sharks is the Greenland shark, that’s common in the North Atlantic Ocean. These species grow only 1cm every year, and they are believed to be up to 512 years old.
What are the Largest Species of Shark?
The largest species of shark is the whale shark, with a length of between 12 and 17 meters. There are a few of these species that grow up to 19 meters. With their large size, you might want to think that they pose a threat to humans, but that’s not the case.
There are so many other large sharks in different parts of the world, and here are 10 of the biggest sharks today:
- Pacific sleeper shark – 3 to 7 meters
- Bluntnose six-gill shark – 4 to 7 meters
- Thresher shark – 4 to 8 meters
- Great hammerhead shark – 5 to 9 meters
- Great white shark – 6 to 10 meters
- Greenland shark – 6 to 10 meters
- Tiger shark – 6 to 10 meters
- Megamouth shark – 7 to 10 meters
- Basking shark – 12 to 15 meters
- Whale shark – 12 to 17 meters
Where Do Sharks Live?
The oceans in the world include the Southern, Arctic, Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans, and sharks live in all five of them. You can also find sharks in some rivers and freshwater lakes. One thing to note about sharks is that they are migratory and can travel long distances to stay in temperate regions with plenty of prey.
The diversity in the different species of sharks has made it possible for them to be able to adapt in different environments, including shallow coastal water, warm, very cold, deep, and polar regions. That’s why sharks are common in places like the USA, South Africa, and Australia, and also in cold places like the southern coast of South America and Greenland.
How do Sharks Sleep?
For an animal that lives in water, you may wonder how they sleep. Unlike humans and other animals, sharks don’t sleep. However, they have a rest and active period, and during this time, they either expel or preserve their energy.
However, this does not imply that sharks will spend all their time swimming endlessly. There are some species that stay in one position when resting, but other species swim even in their resting state. They simply don’t go deeper to avoid being disturbed.
Are Sharks Endangered?
As mentioned earlier, the number of sharks globally has declined significantly, and this is because they are, in fact, an endangered species. The WWF classifies a couple of sharks as endangered, like the whale shark, the hammerhead, and the great white shark.
They are endangered because they face different types of threats. This includes habitat loss, overfishing, an increase in demand for their fins, and illegal fishing. There are so many other factors that pose a threat to their existence, and this is why they are considered an endangered species.
Do Sharks Eat Humans?
One of the biggest myths about sharks is that they feed on humans. This is not true, and the cases where sharks attack humans were cases of being and the wrong place and time, rather than a prey and predator case.
So, the next time you go for a swim and start to think of one of the movies you watched in the past, you shouldn’t be scared because the chances that a shark will attack you is 1 in 3.75 million.
Overview of Shark Clip Art
We have covered the key things you should know about sharks, and now it’s time to take a look at shark clip art. There are different cases where you can use shark clip art, and as a designer, you’ll need access to a library with all the shark clip art that you can use.
When it comes to where you can get these shark clip arts from, you have several options that you can choose from. However, for all the shark clip art that you want, we only recommend using the options available on illustAC.
On illustAC, you’ll find different types of shark clip art waiting for you to apply to different projects. What’s more is that these shark clip arts are all royalty-free, and you can use them for different projects, depending on what you have in mind.
Whether it’s for a marketing campaign or for a social media post, this shark clip art will come in really handy for you. Here are some of the types of shark clip art that you’ll find on illustAC:
Shark Clip Art
Cartoon Sharks Clip Art
Shark Head Clip Art
There are so many other types of shark clip art on illustAC, but this is just to show you a few. The interesting thing is that more of these shark clip arts are added daily, so you have multiple options to choose from.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, all the key things that you should know about sharks, and also shark clip arts. As a designer, you may need shark clip art to apply to your design, and if you want access to different types of shark clip art, you might want to consider checking the available options on illustAC. You can use these shark clip arts for different options, and you only need to check what’s waiting for you on illustAC. Also, these images are royalty-free, and you can use them for both personal and commercial use.
