1. There are over 400 unique and diverse species of shark. Of these, half are between 6 inches and 3 feet in length, and more than 80% of all sharks are smaller than humans. Less than 5% of sharks are giants like great whites, whale sharks and basking sharks that can grow to between 12 and 45 feet.

2. Humans pose a much greater threat to sharks than they do to us: overfishing, finning and habitat destruction are posing real harm to shark populations. Hammerhead shark populations have decreased by 89% over the last two decades.

3. Shark skin, when rubbed from tail to head, is extremely rough because it is made up of dermal denticles, made from the same material as teeth. Many cultures historically used shark skin as sandpaper.

4. Sharks can lose as many as 1,000 teeth per year. Sharks’ teeth are constantly replaced throughout their life.

5. Many sharks can see colours. In addition to excellent eyesight, most sharks have keen hearing and smell. They possess a unique sensory ability to detect electric current using gel-filled pores called ampullae of Lorenzini.

6. Sharks have no bones in their body. Shark skeletons are made of cartilage.

7. The skin of a female blue shark is almost twice as thick as the male’s. This is most likely to protect her during the blue shark’s vicious mating process.

8. The spiny dogfish is one of the longest living sharks, reaching between 70-100 years.

9. The whale shark’s mouth can be 6.5 feet wide. Yet the whale shark eats mostly tiny plankton.

10. Sharks have the capacity to learn trained behaviours. In an aquarium setting, sharks have been conditioned to respond to coloured targets to receive food.