Shark Birth Pictures

Bony fish reproduce by spawning, which is the process by which the female lays a large quantity of eggs in the water, and then a male delivers sperm into the water in close proximity to the eggs. Spawns produce huge volumes of eggs, most of which are eaten by predators before they can develop into adults. By contrast, sharks and other cartilaginous fish reproduce, as do birds, reptiles, and mammals, by internal fertilization. To fertilize internally, two sharks of opposite sex meet belly to belly and the males shark inserts its claspers into the cloacal opening of the female. The claspers are pelvic fins that have evolved to delver sperm by means of an external groove running the length of the organ. The sperm enters the females body during copulation.

Males often bite females during copulation, leaving scars. After copulation, and after a gestation period that differs by species, sharks are born in one of three ways - viviparity, ovoviviparity, and oviparity. Viviparity and ovoviviparity are two forms of live birth. Oviparity is birth from eggs, and in the case of sharks, the eggs are enclosed in natural, leathery egg cases, which offer some protection from predators during development. Shark pups born live, either viviparously or ovoviviparously, have already developed within the body of the mother to a defensible size and with a complete set of teeth. Once born, the pups are on their own and must defend themselves from predators that include other sharks and even their own species. Shark reproduction produces far fewer offspring than does reproduction by spawning. In a balanced, natural environment, this typically leads to a far greater number of prey animals than of predator animals. The closer an animal is to the top of the food chain, the fewer offspring it bears.

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Picture of a juvenile leopard catshark, Poroderma pantherinum, newly hatched from it's egg case, also known as mermaids purse, Indian Ocean

Picture #: 023952

Photo of spiral egg case of Port Jackson shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni, also known as Port Jackson horn shark or bullhead shark, Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia

Picture #: 030465

Stock image of the egg case, also known as mermaid's purse, of puffadder shyshark, Haplobelpharus edwardsii, a cat shark, attached to gorgonian soft coral, Cape of Good Hope, False Bay, South Africa, Atlantic Ocean

Picture #: 030563

Picture of the egg case, also known as mermaid's purse, of pyjama or striped cat shark, Poroderma africanum, attached to gorgonian soft coral, Cape of Good Hope, False Bay, South Africa, Atlantic Ocean

Picture #: 030564

Picture of a puffadder shyshark, a cat shark, Haploblepharus edwardsii, among sea urchins, Parechinus angulosus, Cape of Good Hope, False Bay, South Africa - endemic

Picture #: 030566

Photo of egg case of Arabian carpetshark, Chiloscyllium arabium, with embryos clearly visible inside.

Picture #: 047300

Stock image of pregnant lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris

Picture #: 054909

Picture of a very pregnant nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, circling the fringing reefs off Ambergris Caye, Belize, Central America, Caribbean Sea.

Picture #: 063750

Picture of the egg case of swell shark, Cephaloscyllium ventriosum, with yolk and embryo inside, California, Pacific Ocean

Picture #: 077114

Photo of newly hatched whitespotted bamboo shark, Chiloscyllium plagiosum, lying on egg case, Indo Pacific

Picture #: 077158

Stock image of a swell shark, Cephaloscyllium ventriosum, hatching from egg case, California, Pacific

Picture #: 078373

Picture of Port Jackson Shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni, pup emerging from egg case. Egg cases are unique hard spiral shape. Embryos take around 10 - 12 months to grow and emerge from the egg, Edithburgh, South Australia, Southern Ocean

Picture #: 080404

Picture of a pregnant silvertip shark, Carcharhinus albimarginatus, in Avatoru Pass, Rangiroa

Picture #: 088296

Photo of a cat shark egg case on a seafan, Vis island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean

Picture #: 090289

Stock image of a swell shark embryo, connected to yolk sac, Cephaloscylllium ventriosum, Pacific Ocean

Picture #: 094219

Picture of the egg case, also known as mermaid's purse, of pyjama or striped cat shark, Poroderma africanum, South Africa, Atlantic Ocean

Picture #: 012577

Picture of the egg case, also known as mermaids purse, of the Australian swellshark, Cephaloscyllium laticeps, Bicheno, Tasmania, Australia, Pacific Ocean

Picture #: 009707

Photo of the egg case, also known as mermaid's purse, of puffadder shyshark, Haploblepharus edwardsii, South Africa

Picture #: 012575

Stock image of the egg case of the Mexican horn shark, Heterodontus mexicanus, egg case held up to the light to show detail, in the northern Gulf of California, Sea of Cortez, Mexico.

Picture #: 027881

Picture of a preganant tiger shark, Geleocerdo cuvier

Picture #: 054926

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