Sharks of the world: a specimen tank
Twenty sharks out of more than five hundred, from the biggest fish alive to one that fits in your hand. Labelled and fact-checked.
There are more than 500 species of shark. Wikipedia Sharks are found in all seas and are common down to depths of about 2,000 metres. Wikipedia
Most sharks don’t live in fresh water. The bull shark and the river sharks are exceptions, and the Ganges shark lives only in fresh water. Wikipedia
Giants and filter feeders
The two biggest fish in the sea, and neither of them wants to eat you.
Open-water hunters
Fast, far-travelling and mostly found well away from beaches.
No. 03Great white sharkCarcharodon carcharias
No. 04Tiger sharkGaleocerdo cuvier
No. 05Hammerhead sharksFamily Sphyrnidae
No. 06Bull sharkCarcharhinus leucas
No. 07Shortfin mako sharkIsurus oxyrinchus
No. 08Blue sharkPrionace glauca
No. 09Oceanic whitetip sharkCarcharhinus longimanus
No. 10Common thresherAlopias vulpinusReef and seabed sharks
Resters, walkers, egg-layers and ambush experts.
Deep and very strange
Glowing bellies, slingshot jaws and a shark that may live for centuries.
Three more you might hear about
The megamouth was discovered in 1976 and is rarely seen. As of 25 March 2025, only 296 had ever been caught or sighted (figure from Sharkman’s World Organization, via Wikipedia). Wikipedia
Megalodon was a giant shark that lived about 23 to 3.6 million years ago. It is extinct. Wikipedia Megalodon’s jaws could bite with a force of up to 108,500 to 182,200 newtons. Wikipedia
Epaulette sharks often ‘walk’ across the reef, wriggling and pushing with their fins. Wikipedia
