Question: how do sharks mate ?

Natalie Pilakouta answered on 23 Jun 2014:

Good question! There are many species of sharks, but most sharks mate while swimming parallel to each other and the male inserts his “claspers” (which look like a two-pronged penis) into the female’s oviduct and transfers sperm.

Then there are three possible ways for the shark babies to develop depending on the shark species:

1. Oviparity: the female lays eggs after fertilization by the male. Some examples of oviparous sharks are the zebrasharks (a very pretty shark in my opinion) and catsharks (also very cool-looking).

2. Ovoviviparity: this is the most common one in sharks. The eggs hatch inside the mother’s body but there is no placenta to feed the babies, so they eat each other (!) and any unfertilized eggs in the mother’s oviduct. Because of this cannibalism that happens inside the mother, very few baby sharks survive until birth. Some examples of ovoviviparous sharks are great white sharks, cookiecutter sharks (great name, right?), and pygmy sharks (these ones are so small they can fit in your hand)!

3. Viviparity: this is most similar to pregnancy in mammals. The eggs hatch inside the mother’s body and they are fed by a placenta which transfers nutrients to the babies from the mother’s bloodstream. Viviparous sharks give birth to live young. Some examples of viviparous sharks are bull sharks and whale sharks.