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Shark (Selachimorpha)

Shark facts

By for BBC Earth
Conservation status
Vulnerable
Last updated: 17/05/2024
Last updated: 17/05/2024

  • kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
  • phylum: Chordata
  • class: Chondrichthyes
  • order: 8: Carcharhiniformes, Heterodontiformes, Orectolobiformes, Lamniformes, Hexanchiformes, Pristiophoriformes, Squaliformes, Squatiniformes
  • family: 30+
  • genus: 105+
  • species: 500+
  • young: Pup
  • group: School or shiver
  • predator:

    Bigger sharks, large fish, orcas, crocodiles, seals and sea lions

  • life span: Not known; one species (the Greenland shark) has produced a shark around 400 years old
  • size: 17cm-18m depending on species
  • weight: Species specific; The dwarf lantern shark typically weighs less than 9kg and some whale sharks have been known to weigh up to 21,000kg
  • habitats: Freshwater, Oceans
  • population: About one billion, heavily declining
  • endangered status: Vulnerable
*Dependent upon species

**Source WWF

Image of blacktip sharks hunting in shallow water surrounded by small fish

Sharks have impressive vision — in clear water, they can see almost 10 times better than what humans can.