Many sharks start life as eggs, from which baby sharks emerge after several months. Baby sharks look after themselves independently from the moment of hatching or birth. They grow very slowly. Almost every species takes several years to reach maturity and to be able to reproduce. Then they continue growing, even more slowly, probably until they die.
Some species add a ring of growth to their vertebrae every year.
Others have been tagged and measured in the wild, then caught later and measured again. A concise, pocket-sized guide, this book describes and illustrates some 240 species of sharks and rays from around the globe. A brief introduction to sharks and rays a followed by profiles of selected species. Species profiles feature one or more full-color illustrations by Sean Milne, introductory remarks, and basic information divided into Size, Distribution, Food, Breeding, and Danger to Humans. The species profiles are arranged in evolutionary order and the tops of the pages are color-coded by major taxonomic group.