Michael Marshall, environment reporter
(Image: Ryan Kempster/PLoS One)
Faced with a dangerous predator, baby sharks hold their breath and stay still - even before they've been born.
Bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium punctatum) lay eggs, unlike many sharks that give birth to live young. As a result, the developing sharklings are more vulnerable to being eaten.
New research shows that the shark embryos can detect the bio-electric fields of approaching predators. When they do, they freeze by stopping their gill movements, as shown in the video below. This suggests that even at these early stages, embryonic sharks can recognise dangers and instinctively try to avoid them, say the researchers.
Staying still can be a good way of escaping the attention of hungry predators, as anyone who's seen the T. rex attack in Jurassic Park will know. But these sharks are positively precocious about it.
Journal reference: PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052551
Unborn sharks freeze to avoid predators
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Unborn sharks freeze to avoid predators
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Unborn sharks freeze to avoid predators
