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SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish

Sharks

Whale shark, great white, hammerheads and the bull shark of rivers. 54 fish on EveryFish so far.

Sharks are cartilaginous fish: their skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone, their skin is covered in tooth-like scales and they have five to seven gill slits on each side. There are more than 500 species, from the dwarf lanternshark, which fits in a hand, to the whale shark, the largest fish alive. Sharks have swum the seas for more than 400 million years, longer than trees have grown on land.

How sharks live

Most sharks are predators, finding prey by smell, by the pressure waves their lateral line picks up and, at close range, by the weak electric fields living animals give off, sensed through pores on the snout. Not all hunt big prey: the whale shark, basking shark and megamouth filter plankton. Sharks grow slowly, mature late and have few young, often after a long pregnancy. The bull shark can live in fresh water and swims far up rivers, and the rare Ganges shark lives in the rivers of the Indian delta.

Sharks and people

Sharks are caught for their meat, liver oil and fins, which are used in shark fin soup, and very many die as bycatch. A 2021 study found that more than a third of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction, mainly from overfishing. India is among the largest shark-catching countries, and in 2001 the whale shark became the first fish protected under India's Wild Life (Protection) Act. Shark bites on people are rare: a few dozen unprovoked bites are recorded worldwide each year.

Famous shark fish

Whale sharkThe largest fish, a gentle plankton feederGreat white sharkThe best known large predatory sharkGreenland sharkMay live around 400 yearsBasking sharkThe second-largest fish, a filter feeder

Still to be written: Scalloped hammerhead, Bull shark, Tiger shark, Ganges shark.

Further reading

WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
WorldGreat white shark A large, globally distributed predator known for its size and apex status in marine ecosystems.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1758 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWhale shark The largest living fish species, a gentle giant of tropical oceans.Shark · Open ocean · 1829 WorldHammerhead shark Sharks with T-shaped heads for better vision and sensing prey.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreCaribbean reef shark Large requiem shark of western Atlantic coral reefsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1876 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorn shark Small spotted bullhead shark from the eastern Pacific coast.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1855

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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