Outline of sharks

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

Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) – type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 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



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

Types of sharks
Subdivisions of the biological classification Selachimorpha include:
 * Carcharhiniformes – groundsharks
 * 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 whale shark
 * Pristiophoriformes – includes sawsharks
 * Squaliformes – includes gulper sharks, bramble sharks, lantern sharks, rough sharks, sleeper sharks and dogfish sharks
 * Squatiniformes – angel sharks
 * † Symmoriida
 * † Cladoselachiformes
 * † Xenacanthida (Xenacantiformes)
 * † Iniopterygia
 * † Eugeneodontida
 * † Hybodontiformes

Shark behavior

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

Shark attacks

 * 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

 * 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 2000 m.

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

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

Shark anatomy

 * 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

 * 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

 * 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

 * 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 produced some 150 wildlife documentaries
 * Richard Ellis – American marine biologist, author, and illustrator.
 * Rodney Fox – South 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