Sharks evolution Evidence for the existence of sharks dates from the Ordovician period.

Only scales have been recovered from the first sharks and not all paleontologists agree that these are true. The oldest accepted shark scales are from about 420 million years ago. The first sharks looked very different from modern sharks. The most ancient is Cladoselache: was only 1m long. it did not replace its teeth as regularly as modern sharks. Most fossil sharks from about 300 to 150 million years ago can be assigned to one of two groups: the Xenacanthida and the Hybodonts. this group became extinct about 220 million years ago. The Hybodonts appeared about 320 million years ago and lived mostly in the oceans. Modern sharks began to appear about 100 million years ago. One of the most recently evolved families is the hammerhead shark. The oldest white shark teeth date from 60 to 65 million years ago. In early white shark evolution there are at least two lineages: one lineage is of white sharks and another lineage is of white sharks with finely serrated teeth. These sharks attained gigantic proportions and include the extinct C. megalodon. This giant shark reached a total length of more than 16 metres. this shark was an active predator of large cetaceans. Rays evolution Rays descend from the same family of the sharks, it remains uncertain the sequence of their evolution. their skeleton is made of cartilage and is difficult to study after such a long time through fossils. What we know for sure is that rays belong to a fish group called Squalea and the most ancient rays fossil dates back of about 150 million years. The rays then evolved into many different species like the Heliobatis and Rajdi that migrated all around the world differentiating into many different categories like the Big skate and Blue spotted stingray and the more endangered Nosed Raja. Great hammerhead Features The great hammerhead has a wide and straight hammer along the front edge. The hammer is an electro-sensory system to locate prey, sensing the weak electric field produced by all living organisms. The first dorsal fin is particularly tall. The body is dark grey above fading to light grey below. Habitat Preferring warm temperate and tropical waters, the great hammerhead is usually found around reefs, but may also found some distance offshore to depths of 300 metres. The great hammerhead is found in warm temperate and tropical waters, including the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and smaller seas such as the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Arabian Gulf. It migrates during the summer in search of cooler waters. Alimentation The great hammerhead is particularly keen on feeding on stingrays. The hammerhead pins down each ray with its hammer and then bites chunks from the wings until the ray

is immobilized. It also feeds on fish, crabs, squid, other sharks and lobsters. It can be cannibalistic.

Relationship whit man Although potentially dangerous, the great hammerhead rarely attacks humans. This shark is heavily fished for its large fins, which are extremely valuable on the Asian market as the main ingredient of shark fin soup. WHALE SHARK Features: the whale shark is the biggest fish in the world: it can reach the 14m of length. Its skin is dark blue-grey with white spots and sort of little white stripes. It has two dorsal fins. Its mouth is as wide as its head and is very big. When its looking for food this shark opens it and aspirates the water in the vicinity. Inside its gills there are big filters that keep the little preys in the mouth; the water is ejected from the gills. Its tail is big and strong, in order to move such a big animal. Habitat: this shark is diffused in all the tropical and subtropical oceans, like the western and eastern Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. Its common in some periods of the year and usually swims near the surface. Alimentation: It eats little organism like plankton and little fishes but it can also feed on mackerels. Relationship with the man: it is a very calm and pacific animal, which swims slowly and lets the scuba divers come near it. THE GREAT WHITE SKARK Features: this very big fish reaches the 7m and can weigh 3285kg; it has an hydrodynamic torpedo-like body with a big tail. Its teeth are what makes it different from the other sharks: they are triangular with saw-toothed borders. Behind them theres another row of teeth which replaces the ones it loses. Its skin is grey and like sand paper to the touch. It is very fast and can keep his body temperature higher than the waters, in orther to make the muscles work better. It has keen olfactory senses and is able to detect as little as one part per million of blood in seawater. Habitat: it lives in every temperate sea all over the world. It can be seen in Africa, in Australia, in Mexico. In some states, like Australia and Africa, its a protected specie. It is also present in Italys seas and it seems that theres a sea area near Sicily where the females lay their eggs. Alimentation: this shark eats sea lions, seals and tunas, so it attacks only once from the bottom, then it waits until the prey dies for bleeding. It also feeds on sea tortoises and birds. Relationship with the man: people commonly associate it with pure aggressiveness and are scared about it. Although it is very dangerous, it isnt the men-eater we believe.

When this shark attacks it gives only one strong bite to its prey and if it isnt what he expected it doesnt care about it and goes away. IDENTIFICATION OF SHARKS The approximately 350 species are classified according to existing taxonomic criteria: the modern taxonomy of sharks is based on specific morphological features as the arrangement of skeletal structures and conformations of the teeth. Sharks have retained the basic structure of the body for hundreds of thousands of years. The identification of sharks is often based on the size of various body parts , the position and structure of fins and specific anatomical features such as the shape of the teeth. For the identification of species taxonomists have compiled a list of external characteristics. Some of these features are: the presence or absence of spiracles, with thorns on the dorsal fin, anal fin, comb interdorsal. For the measures take into consideration the total length, length and width of the head and fins, the size and number of teeth. IDENTIFICATION OF RAYS There are 600 types of rays belonging to 18 families. In general, the body of these fish is depressed, with the pectoral fins joined to the trunk with a solid structure called "disco". individual species are very similar and difficult to distinguish. Useful features for the identification of different rays are an extension of the saw-shaped snout, the presence of electric organs or the presence of horns on the snout. In the IndoPacific ocean there is a myriad of unknown species. Male, female and young differ in shape and colour. The identification is very difficult because every region has a typical animal breeds.