COOPERATING SHARKS

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

In this apparently never-ending thread on, errmm, social behaviour 
(?.. I haven't been following it), Larry Dunn wrote..

> Sharks are of coure not pack hunters, so their lack of any 
> intelligence is not dispositive here.

Cooperative hunting (it has even been described as 'pack hunting') is 
known in the deepwater dogfish _Eretmopterus viriens_, aka Green 
dogfish. Complex social behaviours have also been recorded for 
carcharinids (reef sharks), sphyrinids (hammerheads) and 
_Carcharodon_.. in fact, observations made during the filming of the 
BBC Wildlife Special _Great White Shark_ in 1995 led to the 
suggestion that some of these animals cooperate in territorial and 
prey resource defence. 

Also worth making is the point that in IQ and brain size some sharks 
overlap some mammals. And there is no correlation whatsoever between 
brain size and social behaviour.

"I see you are no stranger to pain"
"I've been married.... twice"

DARREN NAISH
darren.naish@port.ac.uk