A Puffadder Shyshark,Haploblepharus edwardsii, at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. The
mottled color pattern of the body would make this shark blend well into the natural dark, algae-covered bottom on
which it is normally found. The object above the shark between the second dorsal fin and tail is its egg case, or mer-
maid’s purse.Photo by Gene Helfman
A Tiger Shark moves across shallow
sand flats in the Bahamas. Notice
the faint vertical bars on the shark’s
back, markings that may help
camouflage it in shallow water and
flickering sunlight. These mark-
ings fade as Tiger Sharks grow. The
shark is being followed closely by a
remora, or sharksucker, swimming
beneath it.Photo by Albert Kok, Wiki-
media Commons, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/File:Tigershark 3 .jpg
An Oceanic Whitetip Shark accom-
panied by a Pilot Fish. The white
tips of the shark’s fins are thought
to help conceal the rest of the
body as the shark approaches prey.
Whitetips are open-water sharks that
seldom come into shallow water, for-
tunately. They have been implicated
in a number of attacks on victims of
offshore airplane crashes and boat
sinkings.Photo by Austin Gallagher, http:
//austingallagher.com; used with permission