Sharks are well adapted to the marine environment and habit all latitudes from shallow water to the abyssal pit. There are several adaptations that allow them to swim without expending too much energy and enable them to maneuver quickly and with agility. The bodies of most shark species taper to points at both the snout and the tail, increasing their hydrodynamics as they chase after prey. They also have a type of scale known as a denticle, which controls the flow of water over the skin’s surface leading to a reduction in drag and more efficient swimming. All sharks have a skeleton composed entirely of cartilage, which prevents it from sinking due to its lack of a swim bladder. Unlike most vertebrates, they do not rely on their internal skeleton to provide them with firm sites for muscle attachment. Instead, sharks have a thick skin composed of a meshwork of strong and flexible collagen fibers. This woven layer acts as a receptacle for swimming muscles to attach directly to their armor-like skin. From a mechanical perspective, having muscle directly attached to an external skeleton is a very efficient arrangement, resulting in very little waste of muscular energy. Sharks use low energy and mechanically complicated movement, which allows for continued existence as an apex predator. The study of shark swimming adaptations, which have allowed them to be evolutionarily unchanged from millions of years, could be implemented in future boats and submarines.
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