Sharks have been around for more than 450 million years, which means there’s a lot to know about the ocean’s most feared predators. While they’ve been the victims of bad press in recent years, it turns out that sharks are fascinating creatures with unique traits, qualities, and behaviors.
How many types of sharks are there? There are hundreds of species of sharks, and they all fit into eight distinct orders: Carcharhiniformes, Heterodontiformes, Hexanchiformes, Lamniformes, Orectolobiformes, Pristiophoriformes, Squaliformes, and Squatiniformes.
In this article, we’ll discuss each of the eight orders of sharks, give you the distinguishing characteristics of each, and then teach you what makes all types of sharks different from other species of fish. Finally, we’ll give you a quick list of FAQs about sharks!
So...let’s dive in.