FISH ATLASGLOBAL FISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

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
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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
Poroderma africanum 的物种图片
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

  1. Continuous cruising vs stationary rest
  2. Bioelectric tracking with ampullae
  3. Pelagic schooling and bottom hunting

03 / SPECIES

Representative species

View all species

Discover representative species illustrating the ecological diversity, morphologies and adaptations of this group.

Scyliorhinidae

Cephaloscyllium ventriosum 的物种图片

swell shark

Cephaloscyllium ventriosum

Triakidae

Galeorhinus galeus 的物种图片

tope

Galeorhinus galeus

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.