Sharks, We fear them, yet we are fascinated by them. What makes this apex predator of the seas so appealing to us? Well here are fifteen fascinating facts about sharks that should get you even more curious about these frightening fish:

1. There are 355 confirmed species of Shark ranging in length from 15cm to 15 meters

2. Most other fish have skeletons made of bone. A shark’s skeleton is made of cartilage, a type of strong but flexible tissue.

3. Sharks have been around for about 400 million years – long before dinosaurs even existed

4. Sharks have extremely sensitive hearing. They can identify much lower sounds than human ears can detect, and some can hear sounds more than 700 feet away. Some scientists think hearing is typically the first sense sharks use in detecting their prey.

5. Great White Sharks can go up to three months without eating

6. Sharks will often eat other sharks

7. The first pup to hatch inside the sand tiger shark mother devours its brothers and sisters until there are only two pups left, one on each side of the womb. This form of cannibalism is called oophagy

8. Two-thirds of a Sharks brain is dedicated to the sense of smell.

9. Some sharks can smell one part of blood in 100 million parts of water and can tell which direction that smell is coming from

10. Most sharks have at least four rows of teeth and they never run out of teeth – when one is lost another spins forward from the rows of backup teeth

11. A shark may use over 20,000 teeth during its life

12. Sharks can be found in all of Earth’s oceans

13. Portuguese sharks live at depths of 12,000 feet, which is over two miles deep

14. As long as a shark’s back is mostly under water, it can swim easily. A nine-foot-long bull shark can swim in just two feet of water

15. Sharks may use the Earth’s magnetic field with special organs that act as a compass to navigate the oceans