SHARKS! SHARKS! SHARKS! Things to know about them

I'm currently doing a weekly Shark fact drop, where I pin a randomized wheel I made and then write a blog entry on it :3. However I think it's prolly a good idea to give everyone some base facts about sharks, what makes a shark and all that!

         

Sharks are elasmobranchii (A subclass of cartilaginous based fish) But not all Elasmobranchii are Sharks, After all, rays (Mantas and stings) and skates are NOT sharks! Sharks are classified as their own Subdivision of Elasmobranchii called Selachimorpha.

Sharks come in many different sizes and shapes, so sharks also have their own orders. Sharks with similar body plans are placed into orders and suborders together :D Selachimorpha is actually a superorder that is split in two to help categorize sharks.

 There are Galean Sharks which often consist of a lot of more stereotypical shark body plans.

While Squalean Sharks often get into some more fun body plans with their lack of 'anal fins' and also have no 'third eyelid' often associated with reptiles :3

There are around 13 different orders and over 500 species of sharks reside across all of them.

Because of their Cartilage based bones and armor around their bodies they are already set far apart from bony fish, but what sets them apart from other elasmobranch? One larger difference is gill placement. Rays and Sawfish have their girls under their body, while sharks have them to the side of their body. This is also true of their mouths! Rays and Sawfish are under their body, while sharks have them generally just around the front of their heads. 

(underbelly of a sawfish)

(image of sawshark Notice the differences in mouth, gill, and flappers!)

Sharks gills are also exposed, instead of protected under flaps like bony fish are.

If there are any questions left feel free to ask them in the comments and I'll add it to this blog post <3 Have a jawsum day :3