Many people wonder if sharks produce sounds to interact with their environment. Unlike many marine creatures, sharks communicate in ways often misunderstood. Understanding how these apex predators truly communicate reveals a fascinating world beyond vocalizations.
Do Sharks Make Sounds?
Unlike many marine animals that vocalize, sharks generally do not produce sounds in the way humans understand. They lack vocal cords or other specialized organs for generating distinct noises. Therefore, the common perception of a shark “making noise” is largely inaccurate.
Any sounds associated with sharks are usually incidental to their movements or interactions with prey and their surroundings. For instance, the sounds of a struggling fish or water displacement caused by a shark’s rapid swimming are external, not sounds produced by the shark itself. While some species, like the draughtsboard shark, might make a barking sound by expelling air or water when inflated, these are not true vocalizations.
How Sharks Really Communicate
Since sharks do not rely on vocalizations, they employ a complex array of non-vocal methods to communicate with one another. These interactions are important for establishing social hierarchies, signaling intentions, and coordinating behaviors within their species. Their communication primarily involves body language, chemical signals, and electrical sensing.
Body language is a primary form of communication among sharks, involving various postures and swimming patterns. Sharks may arch their backs, drop their pectoral fins, or engage in specific swimming behaviors like parallel swimming or following to signal dominance, aggression, or submission. Gaping their mouths or tail slapping can also convey threats or warn competitors during feeding.
Chemical signals, such as pheromones, also play a significant role in shark communication. Sharks possess a highly developed sense of smell, allowing them to detect minute concentrations of chemicals in the water. These chemical cues can signal a female’s readiness to mate or help mark territories, guiding other sharks to potential mates or away from established boundaries.
Another sophisticated communication method involves electrical sensing, facilitated by specialized organs called the ampullae of Lorenzini. These jelly-filled pores, located primarily around a shark’s snout and head, detect weak electrical fields generated by the muscle contractions of other living organisms. This sense is primarily used for detecting prey at close range, but it may also contribute to navigation and short-range communication between sharks.
How Sharks Hear Their World
While sharks do not produce sounds, they possess an exceptionally acute sense of hearing, which is important for navigating their underwater world and locating prey. Sound travels much faster and farther in water than in air, making hearing a far-reaching sense for marine animals. Sharks detect sound through their inner ear and a specialized system called the lateral line.
The shark’s inner ear, similar in structure to that of humans, is sensitive to low-frequency vibrations. It helps sharks detect disturbances in the water, such as those made by struggling fish, from considerable distances. Sharks are particularly attracted to irregular, pulsed sounds in the range of 20 to 300 Hertz, with peak sensitivity below 40 Hertz, which mimics the sounds of injured prey.
The lateral line system, a series of fluid-filled canals running along the shark’s body, further enhances their ability to perceive sound and vibrations. This system detects pressure changes and water movements, providing a “touch-at-a-distance” sense that helps sharks pinpoint the location of nearby organisms. Both the inner ear and the lateral line work together, forming an acoustico-lateralis system, to give sharks a comprehensive understanding of their sonic environment.