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Swimming With Sharks Trivia Quiz

Sharks are among the world's oldest groups of animals. Let's see how much you know about them.

A multiple-choice quiz by ElusiveDream. Estimated time: 3 mins.

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Sharks

Author
ElusiveDream

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
368,000

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
582

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Wide-ranging sharks are often known by several different names. Which shark is sometimes called the 'white pointer'? Hint

Sand tiger shark

Silky shark

Great white

Thresher shark

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which species of shark belong to the family Sphyrnidae? Hint

Blue shark

Hammerhead

Snaggletooth shark

Short-finned mako

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Question 3 of 10

3. Shark skeletons are made of bone.

True

False

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Question 4 of 10

4. Pristiophorus cirratus is the scientific name of which shark? Hint

Californian bullhead shark

Ornate wobbegong

Bramble shark

Common saw shark

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Question 5 of 10

5. What's the easiest way to tell the difference between male and female sharks? Hint

body size

colouration

swimming speed

males have pointed rods called claspers on their pelvic fins

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Question 6 of 10

6. Around how many species of sharks are known to exist? Hint

167

300

235

400

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which of the following sharks is the rarest? Hint

Basking shark

Whale shark

Goblin shark

Mega-mouth

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Question 8 of 10

8. Some of the most common sharks belong to the mackerel family. What makes these sharks unusual among other fish? Hint

they have spines on their dorsal fins

they're all dark-coloured

they're warm-blooded

they move about in large groups

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Question 9 of 10

9. Sharks were swimming in our oceans before the first plants appeared on land.

True

False

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Question 10 of 10

10. Most fish are covered with scales. What usually covers the skin of a shark? Hint

Nothing

Denticles

Spines

They have scales like every other fish

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Wide-ranging sharks are often known by several different names. Which shark is sometimes called the 'white pointer'?

Answer: Great white

The great white fits most people's idea of a shark. They can grow up to six metres long and live in cool, tropical, sub-tropical and warm temperate seas, where they feed on dolphins, seals, large fish and sea lions.

2. Which species of shark belong to the family Sphyrnidae?

Answer: Hammerhead

Named for the unusual shape of their heads, there are eight known species of hammerhead: the scalloped bonnethead, the smooth hammerhead, the Carolina hammerhead, the smalleye hammerhead, the scalloped hammerhead, the bonnethead, the scoophead and the great hammerhead.

3. Shark skeletons are made of bone.

Answer: False

Have a feel of your ears. They're soft and bendy. This is because they're made of cartilage, the same soft and bendy material that shark skeletons are made from.

4. Pristiophorus cirratus is the scientific name of which shark?

Answer: Common saw shark

Saw sharks are very unusual. Above their small mouths, they have a long, pointed appendage, used for digging in the sand to uncover shrimp or shellfish. The edges of this appendage are covered in sharp, spiny teeth.

5. What's the easiest way to tell the difference between male and female sharks?

Answer: males have pointed rods called claspers on their pelvic fins

On the underside of the tail are two pelvic fins. Between these fins, male sharks have a pair of pointed rods called claspers. These are used to pass sperm into the females during breeding. Some sharks, like the Port Jackson, lay eggs while others, like the great white, give birth to their young alive.

6. Around how many species of sharks are known to exist?

Answer: 400

There are more than four hundred known species of sharks, ranging in size from the ten-centimetre-long spined pygmy to the fifteen-metre-long whale shark.

7. Which of the following sharks is the rarest?

Answer: Mega-mouth

With less than sixty known specimens, the mega-mouth is the world's rarest species of shark. They live in warm oceans at depths of up to twenty-five metres and feed on jellyfish and plankton.

8. Some of the most common sharks belong to the mackerel family. What makes these sharks unusual among other fish?

Answer: they're warm-blooded

Most fish are cold-blooded which means they can't control their own body temperature. Many of the large mackerel sharks, including the short-finned mako and the great white are warm-blooded. This allows them to move quickly but it does have some disadvantages.

They need to hunt more often than less active sharks and their bodies need more oxygen, meaning they have to be on the move all the time.

9. Sharks were swimming in our oceans before the first plants appeared on land.

Answer: True

Sharks first appeared around four hundred million years ago. The first plants did not start appearing on land until the beginning of the Devonian Period, around three-hundred and ninety million years ago.

10. Most fish are covered with scales. What usually covers the skin of a shark?

Answer: Denticles

Shark skin is covered in tiny, tooth-like structures called denticles.

Source: Author ElusiveDream

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor guitargoddess before going online.
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