The Shark House

Journal Entry

From the journal of Minnow Gray

Most of the time when we see these white sharks swimming around the boat and the dive cage, they’re in cruise mode and it’s

easy to forget how fast they can move––like underwater bullets. Today one of the sharks blew by us in a flash of black. This

high speed is partly made possible because of their unusual skin. They have what are called “dermal denticles,” almost like

teeth, with a pulp on the inside and dentine on the outside. These denticles reduce drag and add stealth by limiting the turbulence

their large masses can create. I like to think of them as having their own underwater suit of armor.