I've got you under my dermal denticles

 

I really got a kick out of this one. ;)

Shark Week 2020!

 Shark Week doesn't really air in India the same time as the rest of the world. At first it bothered me that I couldn't take part in all the fun. And then I was educated enlightened by Dr.David Shiffman a couple of years ago and now I find the de-sensationalising of Shark Week even more fun. 

However, I do find their episode titles rather exciting (as intended) and I enjoyed drawing my take on the titles. Here are the ones from 2017 and 2016.  This year's titles attempt to be intriguing but it loses its hook once you realise that it's just some over-hyped shark drama below the surface. 

Anyway, I thought I'd choose some of the titles from this year's lineup. 

1. Air Jaws: Ultimate Breach off  (10th Aug)

2. Jaws awakens (11th August)

3. Extinct or Alive: Land of the Lost Sharks (12th August)

I heard that a few diverse sharks were featured in this episode including the Whitetip Weasel Shark (Paragaleus leucolomatus), Flapnose Houndshark (Scylliogaleus quecketti) and Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus). 

Extra: Great White Serial Killer Extinction

I heard there was another episode titled "serial killer" this year. Okay, so it had something to do with sea otters but this title needs to stop being applied to sharks unless it's a super duper fun monster flick. This drawing is from 2017 with a couple of small modifications.

4. Monster under the bridge (13th August)

Monster, it seems. I was gonna go with a Billy goat gruff sort of idea but then this tune suddenly started running through my head and I figured this is even better. 

5. Sharkadelic Summer

I just really wanted to try out some psychedelic backgrounds. 

6. Tiger Shark King

I modified my old tiger shark and tiger drawing to fit this one. Tiger Sharks are hilarious. The tiger is rolling its eyes. 

7. Wicked Sharks

Am I the only one who thought this when I heard that title?

Bonus: Alien Sharks 2020

I modified another one from 2017 with some of the diverse sharks featured this year.

Good Vibrations

I really do enjoy these takes on the ampullae of Lorenzini. "A shark's hearing is adapted to detecting very low-frequency vibrations such as those made by a struggling fish"*. But I bet they pick up happy things too.

P.S. - In case you haven't picked up on it, this is a tribute to the Beach Boys as well.

*http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/hearing.htm

Be sensitive and sensible.

Did you know that a shark can sense you in the water in many different ways? It can see you, smell you, hear you, feel you and feel you. The lateral line of a shark can sense pressure changes in the water and their ampullae of Lorenzini can pick up the faintest of electrical fields. Except, they have better things to do than stalk you for the sadistic pleasure of it.

As much as I love the song "Every breath you take" by The Police, I always thought it was a bit stalkery. I've had a stalker or two in my life (and not because they love my cartoons and want a commissioned piece) which is already a stalker or two too many. I just watched the show "You"which aims to make you almost root for the psycho but victims of stalking would only be sickened by it. It's any day better to be stalked by a shark, than a psychotic human.

Frilly Grandpa shark

The Frilled Shark is considered by many to be a living fossil - it looks like it should be extinct and acts like it should be extinct but it's not! Because sharks are resilient that way.  Although, they just might do doo do do do doo this song to death. 

13 Reasons Why (I Love Sharks)

I probably cannot tell you how many times I've been asked the question "Why Sharks?". I usually tell them it's because they ask such a question.
And then I thought about it and decided that I should give them a bunch of real reasons why I love sharks. So I came up with these. Don't worry, I do have a few sarcastic replies as well which will hopefully be another comic strip at some point.

For those of you who don't know, Port Jackson sharks are a type of Bullhead shark species (Heterodontiformes).

If you have a particular reason why you love sharks, do let me know and hopefully I can turn it into a cartoon for the next set of reasons.


I'll get a poster done at some point and it'll probably look like this. So let me know if you'd like one.

ps - I have not watched "13 Reasons Why" nor am I a fan of "Game of Thrones" so my apologies to those shows.

Remoras, Pilots and Copepods

It's good to be back. I've always enjoyed cartoons that help you put your tiny problems in perspective while also teaching you wonderful lessons about life and the world. For those of you don't know the companions to the sharks, we have:
Pilot Fish:
While these fish do prefer Oceanic whitetip sharks, I had to choose between a sucker fish on The Shark vs being followed by a striped fish and I think the latter appealed more. Here's a bit more information on pilot fish.
Remora:
These unique fish have a suction cup on top of their heads which helps them to attach themselves to sharks and other creatures. This way they can eat scraps around their host and clean their host's skin too.
 Which brings us to why the Greenland shark is annoyed. There's a tiny little parasite, a copepod (Ommatokoita elongata) that attaches itself to the EYE of these sharks!
So, when one considers all that they have to complain about for the day, do remember that at least you don't have a copepod hanging from your eye. If you do, I suggest you try and make friends since you're going to be together for a long time.

The Shark's Poem (Now in technicolor)

A slightly modified version of my Shark poem. It somewhat captures what a shark is and what we have done to the species. We need our oceans, our oceans need sharks, ergo we need sharks. We don't need shark fin soup as much as we need oceans. Hopefully we will see an increase in intelligence in this matter in this generation.
Sharks are usually the main attraction in aquariums. Watching them makes life better even if just for the moment. They're on almost all kids' apparel brands these days (mostly on boys' but girls love sharks as much if not more). Don't let sharks die out.

Was that a Leopard or a Zebra?

I come across pictures of Zebra Sharks (Stegostoma fasciatum) wrongly labeled as "Leopard Sharks" and hence this attempt at an infographic. I understand why people make the error - after all, adult Zebra Sharks have no stripes, let alone any resemblance to a zebra. But it was named as a child and the name stuck.
The Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata), on the other hand, doesn't really lounge around on tree branches nor is it found in the Asian/African region. It does have some beautiful markings though.

The two sharks look different enough and they are easy to tell apart. One just has to remember that the ridged, spotted, nurse-shark-look-alike is a Zebra shark.

I taught my 2-year old nephew to identify them and when he saw a Zebra shark at an aquarium he said "Zebra Shark". My sister ignorantly told him it was a Leopard Shark. Luckily one of the workers told her she was wrong and he was right. Another proud aunt moment.

That's armour!

I suppose the first official strip of 2017 had to include some bragging about how awesome sharks are. Then again, these other annoying creatures don't let us bask in that glory.

All about Sharks and A to Z Sharks! Posters for sale!

You can find these in my shop! I only have a few at the moment so hurry and buy them! :)

What makes a Shark a Shark?

My sister asked me the other day what made sharks sharks. I was all prepared to explain in detail but something came up. It did give me an idea for a series though. Many websites on Shark information have a page on this and I hope my take on it is somewhat accurate.

Unlike most other fish, sharks do not have bones. They have cartilage which has a lower density and is both flexible and durable. This helps the shark to stay afloat and swim better.

Sharks have tooth-like scales (placoid scales) all over their skin which reduce drag and turbulence in the water, hence helping them swim faster and more efficiently.

Fins have fins that can't fold down like those on other fish. Their fins have various special functions. Those aren't really the names of those fins, in case you were wondering. The big "scary" fin on top is the first dorsal fin and is used to balance the shark. The pectoral fins on the side help them steer and the caudal fin or tail fin help them to propel forwards. In addition to these, sharks have pelvic and anal fins.

Sharks have gill slits rather than the flappy gills most fish have. Sharks usually have five gill slits but there are some sharks with six or seven. (This Shark only has three because it's a tiny cartoon shark). Most sharks swim with their mouths open to keep water flowing through the gill slits.

Depending on the species, sharks either lay eggs (fewer than fish) or give birth to fully developed young. Shark egg cases vary in size and shape.

In addition to the five senses they share with us (although their sense of smell and sound is probably better), Sharks also possess two additional senses that help them be completely aware of their surroundings. You know, unagi. Their Ampullae of Lorenzini allow them to detect even minute electrical fields generated by other creatures. They can also detect changes in pressure around them through a Lateral line. Cool huh?

Shark teeth come in all sorts of shapes depending on the shark and its diet. The cool thing about shark teeth is that they get replaced by new teeth periodically - this keeps them sharp always!

Unlike fishes (that have swim bladders), Sharks have large oil-filled livers than help them with buoyancy.
ps- That bath mat needs to be mass produced.

Sharks have quite a few traits that make them unique. On top of these special features, sharks have additional features (some sharks have particular features while others have other features) such as third eye-lids, temperature control, disjoint upper jaw.

Sources: http://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2008/10/02/what-makes-a-shark-a-shark/
http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/classification/what_makes.htm
https://www.sharktrust.org/shared/downloads/educational_resources/marine_educators_toolkit/what_makes_a_shark_factsheet.pdf

Fifty Sharks of Grey Answered!

Here are answers to my Fifty Sharks! I retained the previous numbers although I had to move them around. When I make them into posters, I will put the numbers in order so that it doesn't drive me crazy thinking it's completely disorderly. I also had to correct the colouring on shark #10 (the Shyshark). I'm probably not very accurate on the colouring/shapes of many of these but I hope their activities would have given you a clue as to what they were.

The list of sharks are:
1. Graceful Shark
2. Spinner Shark
3. Sand Devil
4. Finetooth Shark (this isn't very obvious at all but I gave his teeth a little shine)
5. River Shark*
6. Carpet Shark*
7. Crocodile Shark (you can tell by the way it's peering out of the water, see?)
8. Salmon Shark
9. Gulper Shark*
10. Shyshark
11. Houndshark*
12. Whale Shark
13. Blacktip reef Shark
14. Lanternshark*
15. Gummy Shark (he's eating gummy bears!)
16. Catshark*
17. Balloon Shark
18. Grey Reef Shark
19. Mako Shark ('cos he's so fast)
20. Oceanic whitetip Shark
21. Caribbean reef Shark
22. Nervous Shark (I would confuse this with the Shyshark until I realised the colours were different)
23. Goblin Shark
24. Sawshark*
25. Angelshark*
26. Cookiecutter Shark
27. Porbeagle Shark
28. Dogfish Shark*
29. Great White Shark
30. Sandbar Shark
31. Weasel Shark*
32. Sandtiger Shark
33. Spadenose Shark
34. Megamouth Shark
35. Lemon Shark
36. Tope
37. Nurse Shark
38. Thresher Shark
39. Whiskery Shark
40. Bull Shark
41. Bullhead/Horn Shark*
42. Silky Shark
43. Tiger Shark (It's beautifully camouflaged behind grass!)
44. Bamboo Shark
45. Scalloped Hammerhead
46. Smooth Hammerhead
47. Dusky Shark
48. Pyjama Shark (having a pyjama party!)
49. Sleeper Shark*
50. Basking Shark

*There are many varieties in this type of shark. I just picked the greyest one and generalized it. Sorry if that was confusing.

Fifty Sharks of Grey

Before you assume that I'm a Fifty shades fan, I believe that Fifty Sharks of Grey would be far less scary and less dangerous than Christian Grey. I haven't watched the "Fifty shades of Grey" movie yet but I have read the books and I can tell you that they're dreadful. The writing was sadistic and I suppose one would have to be somewhat masochistic to read it and enjoy it. It was simply an abusive relationship being declared as romantic and it's only because the illiterate author would constantly re-emphasize on how attractive the psycho-stalker-boyfriend was that women bought it.
I'm actually quite surprised that I managed to draw fifty grey (grey-ish) sharks. I owe a huge deal to the "Sharks of the world" book. (A must-own!)
Some of my sharks are quite straightforward and easy to guess, others not so much and probably don't make a lot of sense. I think a couple of them have a numerous variety in their category and possibly one of those varieties are grey in colour so I just gave a general representation. And it's possible that I got some of them wrong so please pardon any incorrect drawings.
I will try and put up a version with the names printed next to the corresponding shark soon.

Answers will be posted soon.

The Cat's Pyjama Shark

Like my word play on "The cat's pyjamas"? Pyjama sharks are also called striped catsharks. Mind-blowing, isn't it?

ps - pyjamas are spelt this way.

How to be a Shark.

The Shark's first book! Can't find it in the stores? Blame the publishers for not publishing this awesome book.
The moral of this story? Probably that you simply cannot be a shark. At least try and be the best human you can be.
Ps - This is also kind of a prologue to an upcoming comic strip.

Christmas 2013

Post-Christmas blues.

Christmas card for 2013 (digital version only).

And the comic version:

What do you get a fish that's got everything? A muzzle perhaps?