Horn shark Facts
Horn shark Facts
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Interesting Horn shark Facts: |
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Horn shark can reach 27.5 to 47 inches in length. |
Horn shark has brown or grey skin covered with numerous small dark spots. |
Horn shark has short, blunt head with hard, horn-like ridges behind the eyes (hence the name), and two spines on dorsal fins. Horn shark has two types of teeth: small, hook-shaped front teeth and large, flat teeth on the sides of the jaws. |
Horn shark is bottom-dweller. It spends most of its life on a depth of 6.5 to 35 feet, on the sandy flats and rocky reefs. |
Horn shark is sluggish fish. It moves by pushing the body along the ocean floor using its muscular pectoral fins. |
Horn shark is active during the night. It hides inside the caves, crevices of rocks and thick beds of algae during the day. |
Horn shark hunts and eats hard-shelled mollusks and crustaceans. Small percent of diet is based on fish, squid, octopus, sea urchin and sea star. |
Horn shark has powerful bite that facilitates opening of hard shells. When it eats too much sea urchins, teeth of horn shark become purple-colored. |
Horn shark is solitary animal, but it can be occasionally seen in the small groups. |
Horn shark spends its entire life on a territory of 1000 square meters. It migrates in deeper water during the winter, but it never travels more than 10 miles (the longest recorded distance traveled by horn shark). |
Natural enemies of horn sharks are large species of fish and sharks and northern elephant seal. |
Mating season of horn sharks takes place between December and January. |
Female lays 24 eggs 4 to 5 months after mating. Eggs are laid in the shallow water during a period of 2 weeks. |
Female collects her eggs (that float in the spiral casings in the ocean) with her mouth and transfer them in the crevices of rocks. Incubation period lasts 6 to 10 months, depending on a temperature. Pups (baby sharks) are 6 to 7 inches long at birth. They live on the remains of yolk until the age of one month, when they become ready to search food on their own. |
Horn shark can survive 12 to 25 years in the captivity. |
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