Editing Shark (section)

====Ovoviviparity====
Most sharks are [[ovoviviparous]], meaning that the eggs hatch in the [[oviduct]] within the mother's body and that the egg's [[yolk]] and fluids secreted by glands in the walls of the oviduct nourishes the embryos. The young continue to be nourished by the remnants of the yolk and the oviduct's fluids. As in viviparity, the young are born alive and fully functional. [[Lamniforme]] sharks practice ''[[oophagy]]'', where the first embryos to hatch eat the remaining eggs. Taking this a step further, [[sand tiger shark]] pups cannibalistically consume neighboring embryos. The survival strategy for ovoviviparous species is to [[Broodiness|brood]] the young to a comparatively large size before birth. The [[whale shark]] is now classified as ovoviviparous rather than oviparous, because extrauterine eggs are now thought to have been aborted. Most ovoviviparous sharks give birth in sheltered areas, including bays, river mouths and shallow reefs. They choose such areas for protection from predators (mainly other sharks) and the abundance of food. [[Squalidae|Dogfish]] have the longest known [[gestation period]] of any shark, at 18 to 24 months. [[Basking shark]]s and [[frilled shark]]s appear to have even longer gestation periods, but accurate data are lacking.<ref name="Birth"/>