It's official: Shark Week is only a few days away! Here at the aquarium, we can't wait to see what the Discovery Channel has to share about some of the ocean's "toothiest" creatures!
While we may not have videos of shark attacks or of Great White Sharks jumping out of the water, we do have more than six different species of free-swimming sharks in our Atlantis exhibit!
As a way to share our excitement, we've put together a selection of cool facts about these sharks. Did you know...Sand Tiger Sharks are the only sharks known to come to the surface to gulp air, which allows them to float motionless in the water while they hunt for prey! They grow to be up to 10 feet long and have a mouthful of vicious looking teeth protruding in all directions.
Nurse Sharks are nocturnal, and are often found on the sea floor in groups of up to 40 - sometimes even piled up on top of each other! They are generally harmless to humans, but have thousands of tiny, serrated teeth that they will use defensively. 
Next, our Blacktip Reef Sharks, which are easy to recognize because of their black-tipped fins. They have to swim constantly with their mouths open in order to let oxygen-rich water flow over their gills. Come by the tunnel at the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium to check out the rest of our shark species! One more cool fact before you go: sharks don't have a swim bladder like most other fish, and will sink to the bottom if they stop swimming!
