A European Informational Website
learn more
Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton[1] and a streamlined body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles to protect their skin from damage and parasites and to improve fluid dynamics; they also have replaceable teeth.[1] Sharks include species ranging from the hand-sized pygmy shark, Euprotomicrus bispinatus, a deep sea species of only 22 centimetres (nine inches) in length, to the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, the largest fish, which grows to a length of approximately 12 metres (41 feet) and which, like the great whales, feeds only on plankton through filter feeding. The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, is the best known of several species to swim in both salt and fresh water and in deltas.[2]