Shark DiversitySharks come in many shapes, sizes, and colours. 

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How many sharks species do you think there are?

SHARK FACT: There are currently 513* species of

sharks! (*since September 27 2015)

SHARK FACT: There are even freshwater sharks!

Living sharks are categorized in 8 groups

Orders:o Squatiniformes o Pristiophoriformes o Squaliformes o Carcharhiniformes o Lamniformes o Orectolobiformeso Heterodontiformes o Hexanchiformes 

Wow, those

names are way too

long!

You’re right… they’re way too hard to remember!

So, we decided to have you meet a few of the sharks in each group!

WHALE SHARK•Size: 5.5 - 10 meters (18 - 32.8 feet)

•Weight: Average is about 18.7 tonnes (20.6 tons)

•What they eat: Plankton and other small animals!

•Protection status: Threatened

•Did you know?

The largest whale shark ever measured was 12.2 meter (40 feet) long!

SPINY DOGFISH• Size: 1.0 -1.4 m (3.28 – 4.6 ft)

• What they eat: Small fish, squid, crabs, crabs and sharks/shark eggs.

• Protection status: Vulnerable

• Did you know?

Because of their relatively large numbers, spiny dogfish are among the best-known,

and most frequently studied, sharks.

MEGAMOUTH SHARK

•Size: up to 5.5 m (18 ft)

•Weight: Weighs of up to 1,215 kg (2,679 lb)

•What they eat: Plankton and other small animals!

•Protection status: Data Deficient

•Did you know?

There have only been 60 of these sharks ever found!

VELVET BELLY LANTERN SHARK

•Size: maximum length is 60 cm (24 in)

•What they eat: Krill and small bony fish

•Protection status: Near Threatened

•Did you know?

These sharks have glowing bellies, which helps makes them invisible to animals that want to eat them if the animal looks up!

BASKING SHARK•Size: 6–8 m (20–26 ft)

•Weight: 5.2 tons

•What they eat: Plankton and other small animals!

•Protection status: Vulnerable

•Did you know?

This is the UK’s biggest shark!

GREAT WHITE SHARK•Size: 4–5.2 m (13–17 ft)

•Weight: 680–1,100 kg (1,500–2,430 lbs)

•What they eat: Fish, squid, sea mammals, other sharks

•Protection status: Vulnerable

•Did you know?

Great white sharks are one of the sharks that can leap out of the water (called “breaching”).

TIGER SHARK•Size: 3.25–4.25 m (10 ft, 8 in–13 ft, 11 in)

•Weight: 385–635 kg (849–1,400 lb)

•What they eat: Fish, sea snakes, turtles, other sharks

•Protection status: Near Threatened

•Did you know?

They once found a suit of armor in a tiger shark’s stomach!

BIG EYE THRESHER SHARK•Size: gets up to 6.1 metres (20 ft)

•Weight: over 500 kilograms (1,100 lb)

•What they eat: Fish, squid and cuttlefish

•Protection status: Vulnerable

•Did you know?

There are four species of thresher shark!

ANGEL SHARKS

•Size: up to 1.5 m (about 5 ft)

•Weight: over 500 kilograms (1,100 lb)

•What they eat: Fish, molluscs and crabs

•Did you know?

There are 23 species of angel sharks!

PRICKLY DOGFISH•Size: don’t reach up to 0.30 m (1 ft) long

•What they eat: Small fish

•Protection status: Unknown

•Did you know?

These sharks are found off Australia/New Zealand.

BLUE SHARK•Size: around 1.82 -3.3 m (6 -10.8 ft)

•Weight: 7 – 182 kg(60 -401 lbs)

•What they eat: Fish, lobster, shrimp, crab

•Protection status: Near Threatened

•Did you know?

There have been pictures of California seal lions eating blue sharks!

PORT JACKSON SHARK•Size: no bigger than 137 cm (53.9 inches)

•What they eat: Small fish, crabs and molluscs

•Protection status: Least Concern

•Did you know?

These sharks are only found in Australia!

CORAL CATSHARK•Size: up to 0.70 m (2.3 ft)

•What they eat: Small fish, crabs and molluscs

•Protection status: Near Threatened

•Did you know?

The coral catshark is also known as “Pintarrojia” in Spanish.

ZEBRA SHARK•Size: get up to 2.5 m (8 ft)

•What they eat: Molluscs, crustaceans, fish, sea snakes

•Protection status: Vulnerable

•Did you know?

The zebra shark is black-and-white striped when younger, hence it’s name.

PYJAMA SHARK•Size: grow up to 1.1 m (3.6 ft)

•What they eat: Small fish, squid, cephalopods

•Protection status: Near Threatened

•Did you know?

You can only find these sharks in South Africa!

Those are just a few of our sharks!

Did any of these sharks surprise you?

Which is your favorite?