9781422279168

The slits on the shark’s side let in oxygen-giving seawater.

sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Their sense of scent is especially acute so they can hunt prey in the deep, dark oceans. Sharks have nostrils on the underside of their snout that are used only for smelling. This allows them to detect tiny amounts of chemicals in vast stretches of water. The lemon shark, for instance, can pick up the scent of tuna from just a few drops of its oil, and the great white can sniff out prey from up to three miles (4.8 km) away. In addition to the five major senses, sharks have small pores near their nostrils called ampullae of Lorenzi that can detect electrical signals generated by the muscle move- ments of other animals. They use this process to locate

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