This is Crunch, a Shark Beanie Baby made by Ty Inc. Sharks are carnivores that hunt a variety of prey in the ocean. Normally they feed on fish, but also attack seals, sea turtles, dolphins, whales and on occasion they will also attack man. They have few natural enemies.
Sharks are cartilaginous fish having no true bones.
There are about 400 species of shark. They belong to the order Pleurotremi. There are three suborders: Notidanoidea, Squaloidea and Galeoidea. Most sharks belong to the suborder Galeoidea. This suborder includes the families: Odontaspidae, Lamnidae, Carchariidae, Scyliorhinidae and Orectolobidae.
The species known to attack man include bull sharks, tiger sharks, oceanic whitetips and great whites.
Sharks occur mainly in saltwater but do occur in fresh water as well. The most feared is the Great White Shark (Carcharadon). Great whites are members of the Lamnidae family. It is believed that the female great white begins breeding late in life at the age of 12 to 14. Her pup is born live, four or five feet long, weighing around 55 pounds. While there have been claims made that great whites reach lengths of 36 feet, no great white longer than 19 feet 6 inches has ever been validated.
Shark species look very similar and have coloring that can be grey, bluish or brownish and some are patterned with spots and bands.
This shark (above) is from the Wyland Collection made by Dakin. It might be a Great White Shark. I don't think I've ever seen such a happy shark.
As you may suspect, this (left) is a Hammerhead Shark. Hammerheads (Sphyrnidae) can be anywhere from 4 to 20 feet long. Their head is in the shape of a hammer, hence the name. They inhabit shallow to relatively deep coastal seas. The little hammerhead shark shown below is called Sledge and is a Beanie Baby for the year 2002.
Scientists estimate that worldwide the population of some shark species has been reduced by as much as 80 percent.
Here is a 20-inch Hammerhead Shark from Incredible Petables.
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