Outline of sharks

A great white shark at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sharks:

Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) – a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 440 million years ago, before the time of the dinosaurs.

Fields that study sharks

• Ichthyology – branch of zoology devoted to fish (including sharks)
• Meristics – branch of ichthyology that relates to counting features of fish, such as the number of fins or scales

What is a shark?

A shark, also called a "selachimorph", can be described as all of the following:

• Animal – multicellular, eukaryotic organism of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. An animal's body plan eventually becomes fixed as it develops, although some types of animal undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most kinds of animal are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently.
  • Chordate – Chordates (phylum Chordata) are animals which are either vertebrates or one of several closely related invertebrates.
    • Fish – gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate (or craniate) animal that lacks limbs with digits.
      • Chondrichthye (cartilaginous fish) – jawed fish with paired fins, paired nares, scales, two-chambered hearts, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone.
        • Elasmobranch – member of the subclass Elasmobranchii, which includes sharks, rays, and skates.
• Predator – organism that attacks and feeds on prey (the organism that is attacked).
  • Apex predator – some shark species are apex predators, that is, predators with no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain.

Biological classification

Identification of the 8 extant shark orders

Further information: Biological classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Chondrichthyes
• Subclass: Elasmobranchii
• Superorder: Selachimorpha

Types of sharks

Main article: List of sharks

Subdivisions of the biological classification Selachimorpha include:

• Carcharhiniformes – ground sharks
• Heterodontiformes – bullhead sharks
• Hexanchiformes – the five extant species of the most primitive types of sharks
• Lamniformes – mackerel sharks
• Orectolobiformes – includes carpet sharks, including zebra sharks, nurse sharks, wobbegongs, and the whale shark
• Pristiophoriformes – includes sawsharks
• Squaliformes – includes gulper sharks, bramble sharks, lantern sharks, rough sharks, sleeper sharks and dogfish sharks
• Squatiniformes – angel sharks
• † Cladoselachiformes
• † Hybodontiformes
• † Symmoriida
• † Xenacanthida (Xenacantiformes)

Shark behavior

The Philadelphia Inquirer report of Jersey Shore shark attack.

• Predation
  • Apex predator
• Shark threat display – Behaviour shown by some sharks when threatened
• Spy hopping – Raising the head out of the water

Shark attacks

Main article: Shark attack

• International Shark Attack File
• List of fatal, unprovoked shark attacks in the United States
• Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 – series of shark attacks along the coast of New Jersey between July 1 and July 12, 1916
• Summer of the Shark – the name given to the summer of 2001 by American media outlets capitalizing on a bull shark attack and subsequent shark attacks

Range and habitats of sharks

Range

• Bodies of water in which sharks can be found include:
  • Seas: all
  • Freshwater – some species of shark can live both in seawater and freshwater, and include:
    • Bull shark
    • River shark
    • Sandbar shark
• Depths: from the surface down to depths of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).

A whale shark in the Georgia Aquarium

Habitats

• White Shark Cafe – remote mid-Pacific Ocean area noted as a winter and spring habitat of otherwise coastal great white sharks

Sharks in captivity

Main article: Sharks in captivity

• Shark tank
• Shark tunnel – underwater tunnel that passes through an aquarium that keeps sharks

Shark anatomy

The major features of sharks

• Physical characteristics of sharks – shark skeleton, respiration and skin
  • Dermal denticle – small outgrowths which cover the skin of sharks
  • Ampullae of Lorenzini – sensing organ that helps sharks and fish to sense electric fields
  • Electroreception – the biological ability to perceive electrical impulses (see also Ampullae of Lorenzini)
  • Lateral line – sense organ that detects movement and vibration in the surrounding water
  • Shark cartilage – material that a sharks' skeleton is composed of
  • Shark teeth
  • Spiracle – pumps water across gills
  • Clasper – the anatomical structure that male sharks use for mating
  • Fish anatomy – generic description of fish anatomy

Protective equipment

Simplified diagram of shark net

• Drum lines
• Shark net – submerged net placed around beaches to reduce shark attacks on swimmers
• Shark proof cage – cage from which a SCUBA diver can examine sharks more safely
• Shark repellent – method of driving sharks from an area, object, person, or animal
  • Magnetic shark repellent – use of permanent magnet to repel sharks
  • Protective Oceanic Device – first successful electronic shark repellent
• Shark suit

Shark fishing

• Drivers of the shark trade
• Land-based shark fishing – fishing for sharks from land such as a beach, shoreline, jetty, pier, or bridge
• Shark finning–the removal of shark fins for commercial purposes

Shark conservation

Shark Trust logo

Shark Trust logo

• 1992 Cageless shark-diving expedition – 1st publicized cageless dive with great white sharks which contributed to changing public opinions about the supposed "killing machine"
• Shark Alliance – coalition of non-governmental organizations dedicated to restoring and conserving shark populations by improving European fishing policy
• Shark Conservation Act – Proposed US law to protect sharks
• Shark sanctuary – Palau's first-ever attempt to prohibit taking sharks within its territorial waters
• Shark tourism – form of ecotourism showcasing sharks
• Shark Trust – A UK organisation for conservation of sharks

Notable sharks

• Stronsay Beast – large, dead creature washed ashore on Stronsay, in the Orkney Islands, after a storm in 1808, later presumed to be a basking shark

Notable researchers and people

Hans Hass, diving pioneer

• Peter Benchley – author of the novel Jaws, later worked for shark conservation
• Jacques-Yves Cousteau – French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water including sharks
• Eugenie Clark – American ichthyologist researching poisonous fish and the behavior of sharks; popularly known as The Shark Lady
• Leonard Compagno – international authority on shark taxonomy, best known for 1984 catalog of shark species (FAO)
• Ben Cropp – Australian former shark hunter, who stopped in 1962 to produce some 150 wildlife documentaries
• Richard Ellis – American marine biologist, author, and illustrator.
• Rodney Fox – Australian film maker, conservationist, survivor of great white shark attack and one of the world's foremost authorities on them
• Andre Hartman – South African diving guide best known for free-diving unprotected with great white sharks
• Hans Hass – diving pioneer, known for shark documentaries
• Mike Rutzen – great white shark expert and outspoken champion of shark conservation; known for free diving unprotected with great white sharks
• Ron & Valerie Taylor – ex-spearfishing champions who switched from killing to filming underwater documentaries

See also

• List of ichthyology terms
• List of megamouth shark specimens and sightings
• List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera
• List of sharks in the Red Sea

External links

• Taxonomy of sharks and rays