What Three Senses Do Sharks Have That Humans Don’t?

Sharks have exceptionally well developed sensory abilities. Between the regular senses, they have some extra ones that come with aquatic creatures. They are equipped with eight senses, three more than humans, and one of them is sometimes described as their sixth sense. It would not be easy to hide from these puppies!

What Can Sharks Feel?

Their sight is specially adapted for nighttime and deep waters. The eyes are covered with a reflective film made of shiny cells behind the retina called tapetum lucidum. It makes them glow in the dark, just like with some nocturnal land animals. But before a shark would see you, there are several other senses that it would detect you with first.

A sharks' smell is especially heightened, which is vital for their survival. Up to a third of its brain is dedicated to it. Some species can smell even the smallest drop of blood across a remarkable distance.

Additional Senses

Another acoustic sense they have is the lateral line. It's a system of canals filled with fluid below the skin. They are placed on the sides of the body and their head. The sensory cells in these canals are called neuromasts. They have tiny hair-like structures that are stimulated by water movement. This will then trigger a nerve signal to the brain. It is the source of their spatial awareness. Their movement will create waves that will bounce of any physical object, which, in turn, enables them to develop a kind of pressure map of their environment.

Finally, another sense is still a bit of a mystery. On the sharks' back, his side, and jaw, there is a small depression formed by two oversized scales. It is called a sensory pit. The scales protect a sensory papilla, a small bundle of sensory cells inside this small dent. It is still not entirely clear what it does. It most likely reacts to mechanical stimulus, for example, water current.