![]() They supply oxygen directly to the eyes and brain of the shark. Some sharks have spiracles, which are special gill slits located just behind the eyes. This can be accomplished by the shark's swimming, by it standing still in a current, or by it fanning water across the gills with its fins (this is done by the nurse shark).įilter feeding sharks (like the whale shark, basking shark, and the megamouth shark) expel the filtered water through their gills. ![]() Water must continually flow across these slits in order for the shark to breathe. Unlike bony fish, they do not have gill covers. Sharks have 5-7 pairs of gill slits located on the sides of their heads. When water passes over the gills, a system of very fine blood vessels (capillaries) in the gills takes up (absorbs) oxygen from the water. Sharks, like other fish, live in the water and use their gills to filter oxygen from the water. ![]() is a user-supported site.Īs a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.
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