Cristina Zenato

Cristina Zenato Instagram – Ram ventilation vs buccal pumping
Sharks naturally swim with their mouth slightly open to allow for water flow through their gills; the gills automatically extract the oxygen required for supporting their life.
Contrary to popular belief most species of sharks also present a second ventilation system called Buccal pumping, which allows them to rest on the ocean floor while gently opening and closing their mouths to siphon water into special sacs and squeeze through the gills for oxygen extraction.
Of the species lacking Buccal pumping (obligated ram ventilators) we can list: great white, mako (any species) great hammerhead (in the video), whale and basking shark (filter feeders) and oceanic white tips, and blue.
Of the other known species with Buccal pumping we can list:
Nurse (at the bottom of the video), Lemon, Caribbean Reef, Tiger, Black and White tip, and all the bottom dwellers such as Guitar, Wobbegong, Spiny Dog, Port Jackson and many more.
Video taken of a great hammerhead shark swimming by during our educational shark liveaboard trip. 🇧🇸
Our 2024 and 2025 trips are all fully booked and are now ready to book 2026 trips. Stay tuned for more details.
With @isotta_underwater_housings @waterproofinternational @scubapro @fourthelementdive | Posted on 18/Feb/2024 19:43:26