Nearly half a billion years ago, the first ancestors of a most remarkable group of fishes sprung forth from the evolutionary tree of life, exploding into a spectacular array of cartilaginous predators. Today, sharks are ubiquitous in and essential to our oceans, their lives intersecting with our own in important and surprising ways. In this remarkable exhibition, discover why the most massive sharks prey on some of the ocean’s smallest critters. Learn how to decipher dietary clues from jaws preserved in Harvard’s world-class collections. Explore how miniature teeth on shark skin help them move efficiently through water. Come to appreciate sharks not as deadly killers, but as fascinating creatures—more menaced than menacing—that play an outsize role in maintaining balance in marine ecosystems. Don’t miss this chance to come face-to-face with the ocean’s most famous, misunderstood megafauna!

© Keith Ellenbogen