| All baby sharks are called pups. |
| All pups do not grow in the same
exact way. Some grow in an egg in their mother's stomach. Pups
pop out through the opening in their mother's body. They are
joined to their mother by a big cord that has a whole bunch of
tiny cords that break as the pup leaves the mother's body. The
sharks are then born live in the ocean. When the pup is born
the mother leaves the pup on its own to take care of itself. |
 |
| Some shark embryos get their food first from
a yolk. They use up all the food in the yolk. The yolk will turn
into a placenta that attaches to the female's womb. Nutrients
and oxygen from the mother then go to the placenta and through
umbilical cord, so the shark embryo can grow. |
 |
| This shark gets its nutrients and oxygen from
a yolk sac which is provided by the mother. This shark only needs
one yolk sac. Each shark embryo is in a seperate chamber in the
uterus. When the nutrients from the yolk sac are used up the
embryo is ready to come out of the mother's body. |
 |
| This embryo is provided with many eggcases. The
sharks will immediately start feeding on the eggcases.The oldest
shark is the one that will that will be able to feed on his or
her brothers and sisters. These eggcases are swallowed and digested
very easily. That's how these embryos get their nutrients and
oxygen. |
| |
|
|
| Others grow in eggcases that are left in the
ocean. The eggcases are put in different places. Cat sharks'
egg cases have tiny, tiny tendrils will that wrap tightly onto
plants in the ocean. A horn shark's eggcase settles in big cracks
in the ocean's rocks. Many other egg cases settle on the soft
seabed. |
|
|
| Each little egg is in a hardened
sack. It hardens to protect the small pup. Egg cases are very
long lasting. The eggs take nine months to hatch, just like a
human baby. The pups look exactly like their parents, only tinier.The
pup is hatched when it is nearly full grown. It wanders off to
some place safe. |
 |
| Many pups are eaten as soon as they
are born by other sharks. |
| Dogfish shark lay about 20 eggs,
usually in a pile of seaweed. Each egg case contains a yolk sac
just for the pup to feed off as it grows. |
