Nature

NATURE lifts part of the veil of mystery shrouding some fascinating — and often fearsome — creatures in The Secret World of Sharks and Rays.

Sharks and their biological cousins, the rays, are among the highest-profile denizens of the deep, thanks to the popularity of books and films that have cast them in leading roles — as antagonist, not protagonist.

But despite such worldwide media glare, sharks and rays are among the least-understood creatures that inhabit the world’s oceans. It’s a paradox: a high public profile overshadowing a relatively low level of knowledge about these primordial fish, whose existence pre-dates the emergence of humans by some 400 million years.

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Online content for The Secret World of Sharks and Rays was originally posted March 2003.