Sharks

The ocean is one of the last frontiers. Explorers are still making discoveries of new species and are continuously scouring the deep sea. Just six hundred years ago, sharks were unknown to most people and were only recounted in outlandish stories told by sailors. Over time, more accurate accounts began to spread, and sharks became known as sea dogs until the 16th century. The world, though, still did not understand the diversity of their species.

In a publication in 1758, Swedish botanist and physician Carl Linnaeus identified 14 different species. Today, we know of more than 500 different types of sharks. Eight of the most familiar species of sharks include the great white, great hammerhead, nurse shark, tiger shark, leopard shark, bull shark, mako shark, and whale shark. The smallest shark is the cookie-cutter shark, and the whale shark, at 40 to 59 feet long, is the largest shark. Sharks live in all of the Earth’s oceans, though they are more commonly found in warm…