The Elasmobranchs

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The Elasmobranchs

• Order Lamniformes
• Order Orectolobiformes
• Order Carcharhiniformes
• Order Squaliformes
• Order Rajiformes
• Order Pristiformes
• Order Torpediniformes
• Order Myliobatiformes

Spiny Dogfish
Skate
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Order Lamniformes

• Mackerel Sharks
• Sandtiger shark
• Basking, Megamouth
• Mako, Great White
• Thresher Sharks

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Sand Tigers
Odoutaspis taurus
Spotted Raggedtooth Grey Nurse Shark
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Sand Tigers

• Cannibal viviparous
• 2 young
• 9-12 month gestation
• Neutral Buoyancy
• Gulps air fills stomach
• Complex behavior
• Vulnerable

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Basking Shark

• Elongate gill rakers for straining food
• May reach 14 m (49 ft)

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Cetorhinus maximus
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Megamouth

• Megachasma pelagios
• Discovered in 1976
• Inhabits deepwater
• Large mouth filter feeds
• Mouth is lined with photophores to attract prey

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Mako

• Possibly the fastest shark in the world

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Great White Shark

• Efficient predator
• warm-blooded
• Highly migratory
• Annually b/t Mexico Hawaii

Dark blotch
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Thresher Shark
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Order Orectolobiformes

• Nurse Shark
• Possess long tactile and chemosensory barbels
• Shallow water, benthic dweller
• Suction, crushing feeder

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Whale Shark

• Largest fish
• 19 m (60 ft)
• Plankton feeder
• 300 pups!

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Order Carcharhiniformes

• Ground Sharks
• Requiem Sharks
• Bull, Whitetip, Reef, Tiger, and Blue
• Hammerhead

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Hammerhead Shark

• Head Function
• Increase peripheral vision
• Increase surface area for ampullae
• Cephalofoil lift

Scalloped Hammerhead