Sharks can sense prey by “hearing” vibrations in the water through an inner ear in their head as well as a lateral line that runs along its entire body.
Sharks may not have external ears like humans, but their sense of “hearing” includes a mechanism that functions along its entire body--in effect, making the whole length a virtual “ear.”
The shark has what is called a lateral line which is a small, hollow tube just beneath the skin that flanks both sides of its body from head to tail.
Waves enter tiny pores along the skin’s surface and send signals to the main lateral line which is lined with cilia, or numerous tiny sensory hair cells located on the walls.
Once the hairs move, a signal is sent to the brain with information about the possible prey’s location, distance, and even size.
In the head, two small, pin-prick like pores behind the eyes lead to a fluid-filled inner ear located inside the skull.
The inner ear contains three D-shaped tubes that allow the shark to calibra
