Can sharks stop swimming?

1. 46

   Myn Is Meposted 12 years ago

   Can sharks stop swimming?
   
   

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2. 50

   shamelabboushposted 12 years ago

   Sharks can never stop swimming because their oxygen intake depends on constant moving so water can enter their bodies and becasue they don't have the ability to breathe like other creature.

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3. 69

   Adamowenposted 12 years ago

   As already said, if they stop swimming they will soon enough die due to lack of oxygen. Although they can slow down to a very slow speed and the current of the water will continue to push water through their gills, they need to swim to maintain a healthy state.

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4. 52

   Janbatposted 12 years ago

   Actually, some sharks CAN stop swimming! It depends on the type of breathing they use. 
   
   I was snorkling in the Galapagos some years ago and the guide took me down to look under a shelf of rock:  there were some small sharks there lying under the rock's shelter, all in a row.  They were not moving so it looked like a shark dormitory. They were definitely alive and not swimming!
   
   I suggest you check out:
   
   http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro … drown1.htm

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5. 0

   Mr Knowitallposted 11 years ago

   Bony fish have swim bladders of gas that help them to keep afloat and rest at any level in the water without effort. But the shark, with its body of cartilage instead of bone, has no swim bladder. If it stopped moving for a moment, it would drop to the bottom of the sea.
   
   One species has given up the endless struggle to keep afloat. The rays save their energy and live on the sea bed, eating molluscs and various crustaceans.
   
   Manta rays, however, skim along just beneath the surface, supporting themselves on their enormous 'wings', which can be several meters across.

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6. 79

   Bits-n-Piecesposted 11 years ago

   Sharks cannot float - they have to keep swimming or they will sink.

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7. 58

   JamesGrantSmithposted 10 years ago

   No sharks cannot stop swimming, if they did they would sink to the bottom of the ocean.

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