Shark Embryos Stay Very Still in Order to Survive [BBC]

Researchers from the Oceans Institute at the University of Western Australia have decided to figure out what sharks are like before they become the alpha predators of the ocean.

The findings proved quite curious, in that it has been discovered that sharks are very much subject to predators' whims before growing up, especially when they are very young and, thus, small.

The study, as reported by the BBC, followed brownbanded bamboo sharks in particular, as they are some of the more interesting sharks out there.

They have photoreceptors. Adult specimens use them to track pray, but young ones use them to keep a lookout for potential predators.

The reaction to danger is to sit absolutely still (making it easy to blend in with the sea/ocean's bottom) and waiting for danger to pass. Since sharks spend five months in their thin egg-like shells outside the mother's body, stillness comes naturally to them.