Odontaspididae
raggie
Carcharias taurus
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.
raggie
Etmopteridae
Rasptooth dogfish
Etmopterus sheikoi
Scyliorhinidae
Redspotted catshark
Schroederichthys chilensis
Carcharhinidae
reef shark
Carcharhinus perezii
Scyliorhinidae
Reticulated swellshark
Cephaloscyllium fasciatum
Pentanchidae
Robust deepwater flat-nose catshark
Apristurus fedorovi
Centrophoridae
rough longnose dogfish
Deania hystricosa
Etmopteridae
rough sagre
Etmopterus princeps
Pentanchidae
Roughskin catshark
Apristurus ampliceps
Somniosidae
Roughskin dogfish
Centroscymnus owstonii
Squalidae
roughskin dogfish
Cirrhigaleus asper
Pentanchidae
Rusty Catshark
Halaelurus sellus
Parascylliidae
saddled catshark
Cirrhoscyllium japonicum
Scyliorhinidae
Saddled swellshark
Cephaloscyllium variegatum
Oxynotidae
sailfin rough-shark
Oxynotus paradoxus
Pentanchidae
Salamander shark
Parmaturus pilosus
Lamnidae
Salmon shark
Lamna ditropis
Squatinidae
sand devil
Squatina dumeril
Ginglymostomatidae
sand shark
Ginglymostoma cirratum
Carcharhinidae
sandbar shark
Carcharhinus plumbeus
Scyliorhinidae
Sarawak pygmy swell shark
Cephaloscyllium sarawakense
Squatinidae
sawback angelshark
Squatina aculeata
Sphyrnidae
Scalloped hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini
Sphyrnidae
scoophead
Sphyrna media
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.