source: news.livedoor.com

A recent discussion thread of the amazing image of the skin of the shark with the electron microscope created a lot of online buzz on the overseas bulletin board Reddit which became a huge topic of discussion with many online viewers!

This is the skin of the shark seen under an electron microscope!

source: i.imgur.com

The shark actually looks like teeth with a very rough appearance! However, this configuration is in fact extremely streamlined which allows the shark to swim with very little water resistance! Also, the skin of the shark has a very hard enamel like covering which again creates very little water resistance when swimming. Lastly, the individual scales of the shark’s skin appear to compress when there is movement while swimming so these features could very well explain why sharks are able to swim so fast!

Individual Skin Scales with an uneven surface!

The shark skin scales has an unusually rough surface area and the individual scales overlap with each other creating a smooth overall exterior skin surface when compressed allowing the animal to cut through the water with little or no drag or resistance. It is a remarkable feature that was unknown until the electron microscope revealed this secret!

Is this the reason why sharks swim faster in the water? Does the structure of their skin really have significant impact?

What do you think?