Few creatures have as fearsome a reputation as the shark. In legend, they are voracious predators and born killers, seeking nothing more than to taste any human daring to enter their realm. Reality is mostly different.
Nature’s Perfect Predator
The shark story stretches eons. Mr. Long shows that they are one of the earliest complex animals to appear and endure to the present. The tale of their development is so lengthy that he uses an abbreviation to track time: MYA–for Millions of Years Ago. He takes readers through the whole trip, showing how sharks evolved and adapted to survive five extinction events.He attributes their longevity to three “superpowers”: their deadly teeth, their sense of smell, and their ability to detect the electric fields generated by other living creatures. Chapters are dedicated to showing when each superpower appeared and how they help sharks thrive.
Sharks have an extremely sensitive sense of smell, allowing some species to sense the direction that scents come from. They use this skill to track prey.
In addition, by sensing an animal’s electric field, they can locate potential meals, especially the bottom-feeding sharks that can sense prey hidden under sand or silt. Rays, which evolved from sharks, use electricity to paralyze prey.
Mr. Long tracks the rise and fall of different shark species. He shows how they filled ecological niches as they appeared. Over time, they acquired characteristics best suited to exploit these niches. Provide a food source and a shark species evolves to fill it. He also shows how some sharks changed from predators that fed on smaller creatures, to superpredators capable of attacking animals larger than themselves.
Even more than demonstrating his expertise—Mr. Long is a paleontologist who specializes in ancient fish and sharks—the book illustrates his enthusiasm for sharks. Sharks and their fossils were a lifelong passion. As a child, his idea of the perfect outing was hunting for shark fossils. His career grew from that fascination, and today he’s one of the world’s leading experts.
His enthusiasm informs “The Secret History of Sharks.” It’s not just a book that tells readers about sharks; it’s also entertaining and highly readable.
