@optilacrity: prenatal behavior of sand tiger sharks, where embryos essentially begin hunting before they’re even born. The key points from our conversation were: * Female sand tiger sharks have two uteruses. * Several embryos can initially develop in each uterus. * The largest/most developed embryo hatches from its egg capsule at roughly 10 cm long while still inside the mother. * It develops functional teeth and begins eating its smaller siblings. This is called adelphophagy (embryonic cannibalism). * After eliminating the competing embryos, the survivor continues growing by consuming unfertilized eggs supplied by the mother, called oophagy. * Eventually there is generally one surviving embryo in each uterus, so the mother typically gives birth to only two pups. * Those pups are enormous for newborn sharks—roughly 3–4 feet long (95–125 cm)—giving them a major survival advantage immediately after birth. * There can initially be embryos from multiple fathers, so this prenatal competition can even influence which male ultimately fathers the surviving offspring. We also discussed another fascinating comparison: brown-banded bamboo shark embryos can detect electrical signals associated with nearby predators and essentially freeze inside their egg cases, reducing movement that might give away their location. #shark #tigershark #nature #underwater #animals

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Wednesday 12 August 2026 13:47:23 GMT