Welcome to Shark Week!! Every year since 1988, the Discovery Channel has devoted a week each summer to sharks. What started as an attempt to educate the public that there was more to sharks than just what they saw in Jaws has since become a cultural phenomenon. Last year while watching Shark Week, EmmaBoo227 started to write the names of sharks on log sheets she created and stuck them in a handful of containers we had won at a raffle and the idea for a shark week series was born.
But where to hide a shark week series? In the ocean would be ideal, but not realistic. But we have a body of water nearby. And while the caches can’t really be hidden in the lake, we could make them all puzzles and hide the caches around the lake. So that’s what we did. We hope you enjoy learning a little about some sharks you have probably heard of and learning a little more about some sharks you have probably never heard of.
These hides are all placed around Folsom Lake. Care was taken to avoid poison oak as much as possible, but it is still out there. Also beware off all the other hazards of the lake including, but not limited to, ticks, snakes, other animals, heat and uneven footing.
Cache is located at N38 41.DAE W121 07.CBF
Cookiecutter Shark
The cookiecutter shark (Isitius brasiliensis) is a species of small squaliform shark in the family Dalatiidae. This shark occurs in warm oceanic waters worldwide, particularly near islands. The cookiecutter shark has a long, cylindrical body with a short, blunt snout, large eyes, two tiny spineless dorsal fins and a large caudal fin. It is dark brown with light-emitting photophores covering its underside except for a dark “collar” around its throat and gill slits.
The name “cookiecutter shark” refers to its feeding habit of gouging round plugs, as if cut out with a cookie cutter, out of larger animals. Marks made by cookiecutter sharks have been found on a wide variety of marine mammals and fishes, as well as on submarines, undersea cables, and even human bodies. Cookiecutter sharks have adaptations for hovering in the water column and likely rely on stealth and subterfuge to capture more active prey. Its dark collar seems to mimic the silhouette of a small fish while the rest of its body blends into the downwelling light via its ventral photophores. When a would-be predator approaches the lure, the shark attaches itself using its suctorial lips and specialized pharynx and neatly excises a chunk of flesh using its bandsaw-like set of lower teeth. This species has been known to travel in schools.
A. What is the maximum length of a cookiecutter shark (inches)?
B. How deep has a cookiecutter shark been recorded (first digit, miles)?
C. What is the maximum recorded length for a male cookiecutter shark (inches)?
D. The cookiecutter shark is most common between what latitudes? +8
E. What percentage of a cookiecutter sharks weight is its liver?
F. What is the average wound size caused by the cookiecutter shark (cm)?
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