Here is the link to a comprehensive video on a shark sensory dissection. *GRAPHIC*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAy49LS3jwg
Sharks have a variety of sensory abilities:
• Vision (eye)
• Smell (noise)
• Taste (taste buds)
• Electroreception (pores)
Electroreception
Electrosensory pores - ampullae of Lorenzini
Located sub dermally
Hundreds of individual pores converge in discrete clusters Up to 5 clusters in shark heads, typically fewer in batoid rays
Pores contain an ion-rich glycoprotein gel (similar electrical conductivity to seawater)
The electrical properties of seawater are comparatively consistent in a marine environment across
a biologically relevant range
However, feeding mode still likely to affect distribution of pores across the head
Bottom feeding – more ventral receptors?
Open-water – receptors more evenly spread around the head?
Here is a visual diagram I made to illustrate shark senses changing with environmental depth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAy49LS3jwg
Sharks have a variety of sensory abilities:
• Vision (eye)
• Smell (noise)
• Taste (taste buds)
Electroreception
Electrosensory pores - ampullae of Lorenzini
Located sub dermally
Hundreds of individual pores converge in discrete clusters Up to 5 clusters in shark heads, typically fewer in batoid rays
Pores contain an ion-rich glycoprotein gel (similar electrical conductivity to seawater)
The electrical properties of seawater are comparatively consistent in a marine environment across
a biologically relevant range
However, feeding mode still likely to affect distribution of pores across the head
Bottom feeding – more ventral receptors?
Open-water – receptors more evenly spread around the head?
Here is a visual diagram I made to illustrate shark senses changing with environmental depth.
