Sharks
Sharks come in all sizes, from the tiny spined pygmy to the 40-foot whale shark, but the great white is hands-down the most famous, thanks in no small part to a little movie called "Jaws."
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Sharks: They are the stuff of legend and the stuff of nightmares. But which are the biggest? Here are the top 10.
By Carrie Tatro
Porbeagles are related to great whites, but while they're also athletic killers, they're smaller and far less ferocious. And what's with the funny dog name?
By Mark Mancini
Decades before Discovery started its wildly successful Shark Week, Americans were transfixed by stories of shark-infested waters.
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The lemon shark isn't as aggressive as some other sharks and it isn't quite as yellow as its name suggests.
By Katie Carman
This denizen of the frigid deep not only lives a crazy long life, it also can grow up to 24 feet in length and eating its flesh can make humans "shark drunk."
By Katie Carman
The basking shark, an endangered species, may look like a fearsome predator, but is actually a filter-feeder, gathering zooplankton and other tiny animals, such as shrimp, in bulk as it roams the seas with a wide open mouth.
By Mark Mancini
Shark shocker! This 'virgin birth' is the first example of a shark switching from sexual to asexual reproduction.
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Never mind the penis on its head, this weird ghost shark was filmed live for the first time, and hanging out in the wrong hemisphere.
In the past decade, several two-headed shark fetuses have been discovered. Is there something going on in the oceans we should know about?
Think science has sharks all figured out? Think again. We still have so many unanswered questions about the aquatic marvels.
Most of us would take to the seas a bit easier without any hammerheads, blacktips or bull sharks patrolling the waters below. The truth is, however, sharks help maintain a balanced ecosystem.
By Chris Opfer
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A shark is coming at you. It opens its mouth wide, baring teeth. Will you be able to reach around and poke it in the eyes without losing an arm?
If it works for bears, can it work for sharks? If you're swimming alone, it might not be the best idea. But if you're surrounded by scores of thrashing swimmers, playing dead might help you escape the shark's notice.
Sharks scare us to death. What scares them? Magnets. Researchers have tossed magnets in the water and watched the sharks dart away. But what could be so repugnant about a magnet?
Burning ghost peppers is known to ward off elephants. Could chili peppers stave off sharks? The Aztecs thought so and dragged the peppers from strings through the ocean water.
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It's scary enough to imagine a shark's toothy jaw snapping at your half-submerged body in the ocean. But the actual impact of its massive mouth clamping down? Surprisingly wimpy.
By Josh Clark
If your ears picked up on a 40-hertz signal, you might wonder what the annoying sound was all about. But if you're a shark and you hear this "yummy hum," it might mean it's dinner time.
By Josh Clark
Scuba divers, leave your bling at home. Don't wear yellow when you swim in the ocean. We hear all sorts of advice designed to keep sharks at bay. But is it legit?
By Josh Clark
If you want to attract someone's attention, you wave. But sometimes, wildly flailing about can bring the wrong kind of interest. Do flapping fish beckon to hungry sharks?
By Josh Clark
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Perhaps you prefer a nice filet mignon with a red wine reduction, but according to one source, dogs are a shark's favorite meal. Where do they find pups in the deep?
By Josh Clark
The biggest shark in the world is longer than a school bus. But taking people to sea to swim with these giants has become a big industry.
You've heard the stat. You're more likely to be struck by lightning than be attacked by a shark. Still, wouldn't it be nice to know that your next aquatic destination doesn't fall on this list?
Not all sharks are the gigantic fish we see in popular fiction. The spined pygmy shark gets no larger than 9 inches long. Why don't we know much about them?
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Even the most maniacally energetic people can appreciate crashing on the couch occasionally. Can sharks take the same break without dying?
Sharks have a bad reputation, but is it warranted? Maybe for these 10, which are considered the most dangerous of all.