You're a male shark in a sea of competition, so what do you do when you feel the urge to mate? As it turns out, there are lots of ways to woo a female shark depending on what species you are. But if you don't do it just right, you might find yourself swimming solo. Think you've got what it takes to entice a lovely elasmobranch into mating? Take this quiz and find out.
Written by Jessika Toothman, HowStuffWorks
Romancing the Shark Quiz
You're out running the daily grind, when you spot a pretty lady. What's one tried-and-true method for displaying your sharkish affection?
Flipping your tail flirtatiously in her direction
Bringing her a fresh kill
Biting her on the fins
Biting appears to be one savvy method of sharkly courtship, although whether the females actually enjoy these "shark hickeys" has yet to be determined definitively. But that's not stopping you from giving it a go!
She's definitely not going for the biting. What's another tactic you can try?
Swimming synchronously with a desired mate and spiraling tightly around her
Diving deeply and then darting up from the depths for an aerial jump
Rounding up a school of fish for her to snack on
Experts believe synchronous swimming, combined with other tactics, sometimes helps signal an interest in mating. But you're a shark — you know that already. So swim with her a bit, go in for the bite, then try to flip her around into position. If you're lucky, it's go time.
Where should you escort your lovely shark lady once you've attracted her attention?
Usually toward the surface of the water
Typically in between the surface and the seafloor
Generally on or near the seafloor
You and your fellows must be discrete because shark mating has rarely been observed by people, but experts report that in at least some species, mating seems to often occur on or near the seafloor, perhaps to make it easier for the male to keep an effective grip on the female. So once your lady friend agrees to give it a go, that's probably a good place to steer her toward.
Now you're ready to do the deed. If only Dad had stuck around long enough to meet you and offer up some pointers! What should you to do?
Use your clasper and insert it inside of her.
Use one of your two claspers and insert it inside of her.
Use one of your three claspers and insert it inside of her.
You have two claspers, but you only need one to get the job done. It's able to expand like a blooming flower, and in some species, it first pumps in seawater to swish into the female, which flushes her out and stimulates her reproductive tract with secreted serotonin. This will up the chances that you'll successfully fertilize her.
Uh oh. Despite your impressive acrobatics, your lady has already lost interest. How do you stop her from swimming away and leaving you hanging?
Your claspers come equipped with special apparatus to prevent that heartbreaking happenstance.
You pin her to the seafloor so she can't wiggle free.
Not interested? That's crazy talk!
Whichever clasper is engaged usually has all sorts of hooks and spurs and stuff to help make sure your little lady doesn't swim off before you're done. After it expands, these little appendages secure you to each other so nobody slips away before it's time.
Now that you're getting busy, and no one's going anywhere, how long can you expect the fun to last?
One minute
Many minutes
A few hours
The romance lasts more than a few minutes, but if you're expecting to hold out for hours, you'd better think again. Once the female is fully fertilized, the two of you will part ways, perhaps never to meet again.
So once the magic moment has ended, your pups are on the way, right?
Yup — after a standard gestation period, your pups will hit the pool.
Nope — chances are good it won't have been effective; females have to breed quite a bit before mating successfully.
It depends — sometimes females can hold onto viable sperm for months before their gestation period begins.
If a female mates out of season, she can hold onto viable sperm for many months in a special gland before she releases them and begins gestation.
Correct
Sorry stud, better luck next time.
Correct
Not terrible, but you still have a lot to learn if you want to score more than a pity date.
Correct
Well, you've certainly got the ladies swooning over you. Kudos, you cartilaginous Casanova, you.
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