baby sharks are the world's cutest things

Chondrichthyans (sharks, skates, rays, and chimeras) are commonly called cartilaginous fish. They all reproduce via internal fertilization, and depending on the species, they can either give live birth (viviparity - ex: hammerheads), lay eggs (oviparity - ex: horn sharks), or hatch the eggs internally and then give live birth later (oviviviparity - ex. rays, Giant White Sharks, tiger sharks).


hammerhead baby (viviparity)


Black Tip Reef Shark pups (viviparity)


Port Jackson baby (oviparity)


ray baby (oviviviparity)

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Chondrichthyan eggcases are called mermaid's purses or devil's purses and vary in size and shape. Some look much like a mermaid's purse might: a pouch with four long tendrils on each corner to anchor the egg somewhere safe. The hornsharks (Heterodontidae), which include my favorite shark, the Port Jackson, produce screw-like eggcases that they lodge in a safe place with their mouths.


Spotted Ratfish (chimera)

Spotted Ratfish eggcase

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Ghost Shark (chimera)

Ghost Shark eggcase

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Port Jackson Shark mother and eggcase

Port Jackson eggcase

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Lesser Spotted Dogfish (© malcolmnobbs.com)

Lesser Spotted Dogfish eggcase

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Swell Shark

Swell Shark eggcase

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The Lemon Shark is viviparous and gives birth to 4-17 young every year in warm, shallow waters.


Lemon Shark pup in the womb

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Sand Tiger Shark pups go through a vicious in-vitro ordeal. The are oviviviparious; multiple eggs hatch in each of the two uteri and the hungry pups eat each other until only one in each uterus is left. Two pups are born: the biggest and baddest pups. Unfortunately, their picky reproduction strategy is making it difficult for their numbers to rebound from Vulnerable status.


cannibalistic Sand Tiger pup in the womb

From Wikipedia: "There are reports of biologists probing the bellies of landed females and having their fingers nipped by the cannibalistic young with their fully developed teeth."

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for more animal babies in the womb: click here