Port Jackson Sharks
“…and the Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it’.” [Ezekiel 9:4]
One of the most distinctive-looking sharks in the world is the Port Jackson shark, which is found along the coastal regions of southern Australia. It has a large head with prominent ridges on its forehead, and a strange set of teeth. The teeth, unlike most sharks’, are different from front to back. In the front are sharp, small pointed teeth for catching prey. The back teeth are flat and blunt and useful for grinding its diet of mostly mollusks. Its genus name, Heterodontus, actually means “different tooth”! Fortunately, this shark doesn’t pose any threats to humans and has rarely been known to bite (though I wouldn’t want to test its patience).
One of the unusual features of this shark is its ability to eat and breathe at the same time. Because of an unusual respiratory system with five special gills that transfer oxygen more effectively, the Port Jackson shark does not need to swim with the mouth open to force water over the gills. It can actually pump water through its enlarged first gill to the other four gills. In other words, it doesn’t need to move to breathe. It can stay on the bottom for longer periods of time than other fish.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the Port Jackson shark is the dark brown and black markings that make it look like the shark is wearing some type of harness. This five-foot shark is easy to identify with stripes that begin around its eyes, continue up across its forehead, and then to its first dorsal fin and across the rest of its body. You can’t miss this guy when he swims by, though this shark is most active at night and hides in caves and cliffs during the daytime.
God has shown that at the end of time every person on Earth will have a mark that distinguishes them as belonging to one of two groups – the Lord’s people or Satan’s. The Bible describes those who follow the dragon as receiving the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16). But those who are faithful to the Lord receive the seal of God (Revelation 14:1). How will you be identified before Jesus comes?
