Shark | Attacks, Types, & Facts (2024)

shark, any of numerous species of cartilaginous fishes of predatory habit that constitute the order Selachii (class Chondrichthyes).

Sharks, together with rays and skates, make up the subclass Elasmobranchii of the Chondrichthyes. Sharks differ from other elasmobranchs, however, and resemble ordinary fishes, in the fusiform shape of their body and in the location of their gill clefts on each side of the head. Though there are exceptions, sharks typically have a tough skin that is dull gray in colour and is roughened by toothlike scales. They also usually have a muscular, asymmetrical, upturned tail; pointed fins; and a pointed snout extending forward and over a crescentic mouth set with sharp triangular teeth. Sharks have no swim bladder and must swim perpetually to keep from sinking to the bottom.

There are more than 400 living species of sharks, taxonomically grouped into 14–30 families, according to different authorities. Several larger species can be dangerous to humans. The largest predatory sharks, such as the white shark and tiger shark, are often considered to be the apex predators (meaning without a natural predator or enemy) of their marine environments. Numerous sharks are fished commercially. However, overfishing in the late 20th and early 21st centuries substantially reduced the populations of some shark species.

Description and habits

Shark species are nondescript in colour, varying from gray to cream, brown, yellow, slate, or blue and often patterned with spots, bands, marblings, or protuberances. The oddest-looking sharks are the hammerheads (Sphyrna), whose heads resemble double-headed hammers and have an eye on each stalk, and the wobbegongs (family Orectolobidae), whose skin flaps and protective coloration closely resemble the seafloor. The vernacular of shark names indicate colours in living species, such as the blue (Prionace glauca), the white (Carcharodon carcharias; also known as the great white shark), and the lemon (Negaprion brevirostris) shark.

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) and the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), both of which may weigh several tons, are harmless giants that subsist on plankton strained from the sea through modified gill rakers. Whale sharks may grow up to 18 metres (59 feet) in length, whereas basking sharks may reach 14 metres (46 feet) fully grown. All other sharks prey on smaller sharks, fish, squid, octopuses, shellfish, other invertebrates, and, in some species, trash. The largest among the more predatory species is the voracious 6-metre (20-foot) white shark, which attacks seals, dolphins, sea turtles, large fish, and occasionally people. The more sluggish Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) of cold deep waters feeds on seals, large fish, and even swimming reindeer; they may also scavenge whale carcasses.

Normally, sharks feed on fish, often attacking in schools. Open-ocean species such as the mackerel (Lamna), mako (Isurus), and thresher (Alopias) sharks frequently feed near the surface and are much sought after with rod and reel for sport. Beautifully streamlined and powerful swimmers, those open-ocean sharks are adept at feeding on fast tuna, marlin, and the like. Bottom-feeding species of sharks are stout, blunt-headed forms that tend to have more-sluggish habits. The shellfish eaters among them have coarse, pavementlike, crushing teeth.

Fertilization in sharks is internal. The male introduces sperm into the female by using special copulatory organs (claspers) derived from the pelvic fins. The young in many species hatch from eggs within the female and are born alive. Other species may lay eggs or nurture their young in the uterus with a placental attachment to the mother, like humans. Some species may even consume their siblings before they are born.

The origin of sharks is obscure, but their geologic record goes back at least to the Devonian Period (419.2 million to 358.9 million years ago). Fossil sharklike fish appeared in the Middle Devonian Epoch and became the dominant vertebrates of the Carboniferous Period (358.9 million to 298.9 million years ago). Modern sharks appeared in the Early Jurassic Epoch (201.3 million to 174.1 million years ago) and by the Cretaceous Period (145 million to 66 million years ago) had expanded into the present-day families. Overall, evolution has modified shark morphology very little except to improve their feeding and swimming mechanisms. Shark teeth are highly diagnostic of species, both fossil and modern.

Sharks’ geographic ranges are not well known. Their extensive movements are related to reproductive or feeding activities or to seasonal environmental changes. Tagging returns from large sharks on the east coast of the United States indicate regular movements between New Jersey and Florida, and blue sharks have been recovered after crossing the southern Atlantic Ocean. A tagged spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) was recovered after traveling about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) in 129 days. Advances in tracking technologies include the use of satellite tags that continuously beam a signal to orbiting satellites whenever the shark surfaces and in that manner reveal north-south movements, transoceanic movements, and roaming and migratory patterns that are beginning to be understood for many species.

Some members of the Carcharhinus genus—most notably the bull shark (C. leucas)—enter fresh waters. Riverine sharks are small to medium-sized and are exceptionally voracious and bold.