Sharks underwater photo gallery | marine species information | diving photos

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Sharks image gallery...

Underwater photography: images of sharks taken while scuba diving


	Shark encounters...

	Click here for Shark videos...

click on any image to enlarge


Whitetip sharks	Hammerheads	Whitetip reef	Bronze whaler	Leopard shark

Great White	Juvenile blacktip	Whitetip shark	Grey reef shark	Nurse shark

Raja epaulette	Galápagos	Whaleshark	Wobbegong	Grey reef shark
Int = intermediate \| Juv = juvenile

All about sharks...

Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Selachimorpha

Many sharks are now registered on the IUCN red list of critically endangered, endangered or threatened species. The rest are listed as vulnerable. Very few shark species are listed as stable and none are listed as increasing.

Sitting right at the top of the marine food chain, sharks fall into the scientific superorder Selachimorpha. Beneath this, there are 14 or so 'orders' but a simpler way to describe their diversity is to state that there are 440 different species of shark in our oceans. These amazing animals vary from the deep sea dwarf lanternshark, which measures just 17 centimetres (7 in) long, to the majestic and placid whale shark (or whaleshark), Rhincodon typus, which can reach as much as 12 metres (39 ft).

Sharks are found in all seas and some travel to depths of 2,000 metres, sometimes more. The Great White shark and the hammerhead sit at the very top of the apex predator chain while others, like basking sharks are completely harmless.

Conservation
While sharks are seen as the ultimate predators, their survival continues to be threatened by man and in particular, by commercial fishing practices. It is estimated that 100 million sharks are killed every year in this way.

For more information on shark conservation projects, http://www.sharktrust.org/

Shark encounters...

LOCATION: Guadalupe Island, Mexico
DIVE SITE: North East Coast
DEPTH: 3m
SPECIES: Carcharodon carcharias
COMMON NAME: Great White shark

IMAGE
Photographing froma cage
DIVE LOG:
Guadalaupe Island is one of the few places where divers (and non-divers) can get up close and personal with a Great White shark and be perfectly safe. The sharks are highly protected and the water is not chummed to attract them. Despite that, there are often four of five circling the boat at any one time.

Read all about the cage diving experience at Guadalupe Island.

Images on this page are available as prints. Take a note of the name then go to the photo order form...		This well laid out guide book is very useful for comparing and identifying shark and ray species: Sharks and Rays Sharks and Rays
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