Chondrichthyans life cycle:
Chondrichthyans may live up to many different ages so there is no deffinite average or set life span of a shark. But generally the average sharks may live up to anywhere from 20 to 40 years although there are a couple species that are able to live up to about a whole century. When sharks are born they do not recieve parental care from the parents but when they are born they are healthy and developed enough to survive on their own. Sharks may give birth up to 100 pups or only a few, this makes them a species with a k selected lifestyle. You can generally see the overall and general life cycle in the image below.
Chondrichthyans may live up to many different ages so there is no deffinite average or set life span of a shark. But generally the average sharks may live up to anywhere from 20 to 40 years although there are a couple species that are able to live up to about a whole century. When sharks are born they do not recieve parental care from the parents but when they are born they are healthy and developed enough to survive on their own. Sharks may give birth up to 100 pups or only a few, this makes them a species with a k selected lifestyle. You can generally see the overall and general life cycle in the image below.
The life cycle of the shark starts off with the egg of the female shark being fertilized by a male. After this happens, the sharks carry their young inside of them. There are three ways that the sharks carry their young inside of them which are oviparity, viviparity and ovoviviparity. Oviparity is when the mother lays eggs of the offspring with leathery egg shells. Viviparity is when the offspring have the placenta to feed on inside the mother, then when they are born they are fully developed and alive. Ovoviviparity is when the eggs that are inside of the mother hatch and stay inside for a while. This period of time is not determined how long but it casn be as long as a one or two years. The pups that are hatched inside are in competition in a cannibalistic way. The first pup that is born may eat the other eggs or pups, this process of the first offspring eating the others is called oophagy. After the pup is born they are developed enough to live their own life and become strong adults themselves after a long period of time. Then the same reproductive process hapens again and this becomes the life cycle of a shark.v