Shark Diversity
Sharks come in many shapes, sizes, and colours.
SARASOTA FINS © 2015
www.sarasotafins.weebly.com
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!
We decided to have you meet a few of the
sharks!
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-andwhite 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?