Sharks

Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
The 8 Orders

● Squatiniformes (Angel sharks)

● Pristiophoriformes (Saw sharks)
● Squaliformes (Dogfish sharks)
● Carcharhiniformes (Requiem sharks and hammerheads)
● Lamniformes (Mackerel sharks)
● Orectolobiformes (Carpet sharks)
● Heterodontiformes (Bullhead sharks)
● Hexanchiformes (6-Gilled and 7-Gilled sharks)
Commonalities

● Cartilaginous skeleton
● Five to seven gilt slits on the sides of the head
● Pectoral fins
● Jawed vertebrates
● Paired nares (nostrils)
● Scales
Microanatomy

● Cartilage only
● Can only swim forward
● Large oily liver (buoyancy)
● Gill slits but no gill cover
● Rough, sandpaper-like placoid scales
○ covered with a hard enamel
○ grow out of the dermis layer
○ dermal denticles
● Spiracle in front of first gill (supplies oxygen to the eyes and brain)
How do they eat?

All sharks are carnivores

● Eat their food whole

● Bite their food into large pieces

They have U shaped stomachs that use very strong acids and enzymes to dissolve
most of what is eaten

● Creates a soupy mush

● Only mush enters the intentestines
● Indigestible things (very large bones) are vomited
How do they reproduce?

● Eggs are fertilized inside the female’s body

● "claspers" extensions of the pelvic fins are used to transfer sperm to the eggs
● Most give birth to live young; some release eggs that hatch later
● Takes two + - years for the embryo to develop

● Pups are born with a full set of teeth

● Once they are born they swim away from their mother
● Litter size ranges from 1 or 2 pups to over 100
Evolution

Sharks date back to 420 mya (million years ago)

● Cladodonts are the earliest known category of sharks

● The earliest known Cladodont is Cladoselache

Cladoselache

● Existes 370 mya

● Grew up to 5.9 ft
● Lived in the oceans of North America
● Fast-moving and agile predator
● Ate fish and crustaceans
References

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/toc.shtml