THE words baby shark may have you humming a maddeningly catchy tune for the rest of the day, but they transport me to a Devon beach and an up-close encounter with the most adorable shark I’ve ever seen. A small-spotted catshark, it was swimming lazily around a rock pool. Roughly the size of a cigar, it was covered in speckles and it must have only just hatched out of its egg case, where it had been wriggling and growing for close to a year. I couldn’t resist picking up the little shark for a moment and gently holding it in the palm of my hand.
Britain is not renowned for its sharks, yet, beneath the waves, there’s a rich mix of species. The tiny catshark I found is one of 21 kinds known to reside full time in UK seas. An additional 40 or so arrive each year as seasonal visitors. Together, they range from deep-sea oddballs and plankton-sifting giants to superfast sprinters and flattened seabed sitters.
All of them are members of the same group of fish, known as elasmobranchs, the direct ancestors of which have been swimming around the ocean for at least 400 million years. It’s generally easy to spot a shark from a bunch of other fish. They have a characteristic bendy skeleton and jaws that are made not from hard bone, but cartilage—the same soft material from which human noses and ears are made. Sharks don’t have scales either, but skin covered in tiny teeth-like structures, called denticles, which makes them smooth if you stroke them from head to tail and rough like sandpaper in the other direction.
By the skin of their teeth: in folklore and culture
Denne historien er fra August 16, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 16, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
