When it comes to sharks, there’s so much to learn about these amazing marine predators. They are apex predators of the ocean, and they have intrigued humans for centuries. But one question that’s often asked is, “How many bones are in a shark”

In short, yes, but it’s not exactly what you might expect. Rather than being made of hard, sturdy bone, sharks have a skeleton composed of tissue that’s very similar to the skin and cartilage found in your nose and ears. This softer, more flexible tissue is known as cartilage, and it helps to make sharks as powerful as they are.

Cartilage is also less dense than bone, allowing sharks to bend their bodies at steep arcs without the added effort of having to support their weight with bone-based skeletal structures. Plus, it’s lighter and provides better buoyancy so that sharks can float in their natural habitats with ease, using very little energy.

The number of bones in a shark depends on the species, but typically there are 70-100 cartilage segments that comprise their skeletons. These segments include the dorsal spine (made up of 45-50 cartilage segments), ribs (26-35 pairs of cartilage that protect the organs), and jaws (6-8 sections of rod-like cartilage for the upper and lower jaws). The jaws also have a row of teeth that differ by species, with some having serrated triangular teeth for crushing prey and others having flat, conical teeth for consuming crustaceans. These differences allow sharks to specialize in their natural habitats and help them be effective hunters and predators of the sea.