They're not called “the perfect predator” without reason. The stuff of our nightmares, and a lifeguard’s watchful eye, sharks are at the top of the ocean’s food chain.

With some 440 known species swimming the earth’s oceans, sharks are thought to be 420 million years old. Though today’s 20-foot-long great whites are smaller than the extinct 100-foot Megaldon, a shark large enough to swallow a Ford Explorer and its eight passengers whole, not much else has changed.

Ripley’s Aquarium at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach specializes in the crowd favorites with dozens of live sharks swimming overhead in the 750,000-gallon Dangerous Reef viewed from below on a moving glide path. New for 2011 the “Sharks—Perfect Predators” exhibit explores more than a dozen species with some 30 hands-on interactive displays designed to expand anyone’s knowledge of these fascinating creatures who feed just off our Grand Strand shores and are found in every ocean of the world.

Opened in 1997, the aquarium is a favorite of locals and returning visitors who continue to help make it South Carolina’s most attended paid attraction, with more than 10 million visitors to date. Young and old come to enjoy the thousands of fish and aquatic creatures in natural-looking habitat, the dive shows, and educational programs.

Sharks—Perfect Predators Ripley’s Aquarium Myrtle Beach 1110 Celebrity Circle, Myrtle Beach (800)734-8888, myrtlebeach.ripleyaquariums.com Tickets are $3.99-$21.99. Opens daily at 9 a.m