Triakidae
Humpback smooth-hound
Mustelus whitneyi
FISH SPECIES
Sharks
Sharks are cartilaginous fishes with skeletons made primarily of cartilage. They include small bottom dwellers, open-ocean hunters and giant filter feeders such as the whale shark.
FISH ATLAS / FIELD GUIDESharksIN THIS CHAPTER01 / Characteristics02 / Lifestyle03 / Species04 / Field notes
SCROLL
01 / NATURAL HISTORY
Characteristics
Typical features include exposed gill slits, replaceable teeth and placoid scales that give the skin a tooth-like texture. Body form and feeding strategy vary across the major shark orders.
- 01Ground sharks
- 02Mackerel sharks
- 03Carpet sharks
02 / LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle
Shark locomotion and foraging strategies reflect adaptations across diverse marine niches. While active pelagic predators utilize obligate ram ventilation and cruise continuously using specialized caudal keels, many benthic species possess spiracles that allow stationary pumping while resting on the ocean floor. Electroreceptive ampullae of Lorenzini detect minuscule bioelectric fields emitted by buried prey during low-speed sweeps.
OBSERVATION INDEX
- Continuous cruising vs stationary rest
- Bioelectric tracking with ampullae
- Pelagic schooling and bottom hunting
03 / SPECIES
Representative species
Discover representative species illustrating the ecological diversity, morphologies and adaptations of this group.
Humpback smooth-hound
Squalidae
Humpback Western dogfish
Squalus quasimodo
Pentanchidae
Iceland catshark
Apristurus laurussonii
Triakidae
Indian houndshark
Iago gopalakrishnani
Odontaspididae
Indian sand tiger
Carcharias tricuspidatus
Squalidae
Indian spurdog : fisheries
Squalus hima
Scyliorhinidae
Indian swellshark
Cephaloscyllium silasi
Squatinidae
Indonesian Angel Shark
Squatina legnota
Triakidae
Indonesian Houndshark
Hemitriakis indroyonoi
Squalidae
Indonesian shortsnout spurdog
Squalus hemipinnis
Pentanchidae
Indonesian Speckled Catshark
Halaelurus maculosus
Carcharhinidae
Indonesian Whaler
Carcharhinus tjutjot
Orectolobidae
Indonesian wobbegong
Orectolobus leptolineatus
Carcharhinidae
Irrawaddy river shark
Glyphis siamensis
Hemiscylliidae
itar shark
Hemiscyllium ocellatum
Squatinidae
Japanese angelshark
Squatina japonica
Oxynotidae
Japanese roughshark
Oxynotus japonicus
Pristiophoridae
Japanese sawshark
Pristiophorus japonicus
Squalidae
Japanese shortnose spurdog
Squalus brevirostris
Squalidae
Japanese spurdog
Squalus japonicus
Triakidae
Japanese topeshark
Hemitriakis japanica
Pristiophoridae
Kaja’s sixgill sawshark
Pliotrema kajae
Squalidae
Kermadec spiny dogfish
Squalus raoulensis
Dalatiidae
kitfin shark
Dalatias licha
04 / FIELD NOTES
A closer look
Must all sharks swim constantly to avoid suffocating?
No. Only certain open-ocean sharks rely on obligate ram ventilation. Many bottom-dwelling species (like nurse and carpet sharks) use spiracles and buccal pumping to breathe while resting stationary on the ocean floor.
How many teeth do sharks produce in a lifetime?
Shark teeth are arranged in conveyer-belt rows and continually shed as they wear down; an individual shark can produce thousands of functional teeth over its lifetime.
Is a whale shark dangerous to humans?
No. Despite reaching over 12 meters in length, whale sharks are gentle filter feeders that consume microscopic plankton, krill and small schooling fishes, posing no danger to divers.