Classification

Sharks and rays are part of the extremely diverse group of fishes known as elasmobranchs. These fishes which have been around for more than 400 million years, are distinguished from teleost or bony fishes by their cartilaginous skeletons, numerous gill slits, dermal denticles, and the presence of claspers, which are the external reproductive organs of the males. They can be found from the sunlight zone to thousands of metres below the ocean's surface in both temperate and tropical oceans. They are known to occupy a variety of aquatic habitats such as freshwater rivers and lakes.