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classification

(Encyclopedia)CE5 classification, in biology, the systematic categorization of organisms into a coherent scheme. The original purpose of biological classification, or systematics, was to organize the vast number...

shark

(Encyclopedia)shark, member of a group of almost exclusively marine and predaceous fishes. There are about 250 species of sharks, ranging from the 2-ft (60-cm) pygmy shark to 50-ft (15-m) giants. They are found in ...

hammerhead shark

(Encyclopedia)hammerhead shark, active, surface-living shark, genus Sphyrina. Its curious head has lateral projections resembling the crossbar of a T, and its eyes and ears are located in the outer tips of the proj...

mackerel shark

(Encyclopedia)mackerel shark: see mako.

leopard shark

(Encyclopedia)leopard shark: see dogfish.

white shark

(Encyclopedia)white shark, large, ferocious shark, Carcharodon carcharias. Also known as the great white shark and maneater, this shark can attack swimmers and boats without provocation, though it does not typicall...

whale shark

(Encyclopedia)whale shark, large, plankton-eating shark, Rhincodon typus, found in all tropical seas of the world. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world. A female typically reaches about 46 ft (14 m) in le...

bonnethead shark

(Encyclopedia)bonnethead shark: see hammerhead shark. ...

thresher shark

(Encyclopedia)thresher shark, long-tailed, warm-water shark, genus Alopias. The upper fork of its tail is slender and sickle-shaped and is about equal in length to the rest of the body. This shark uses its tail str...

basking shark

(Encyclopedia)basking shark, large, plankton-feeding shark, Cetorhinus maximus, inhabiting many oceans of the world, especially in temperate regions. Found singly or in schools of up to 100, it spends much of its t...