CLASSIFICATION

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CLASSIFICATION
2
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
3
TAXONOMY
Local people would often give an organism a
name. For instance, the bull shark is also known
as Van Rooyens shark, the Zambezi shark, the
Nicaragua shark, shovelnose, and the cub shark.
So, by the beginning of the 18th century, an
international system of naming became necessary
for scientists to properly and more efficiently
catalog information about particular
organisms. In the mid 1700s taxonomy (a system
of classification) was developed by Swedish
naturalist Carrolus Linnaeus (1707-78) and it is
still used today. It is called binomial
nomenclature (two-name naming). All organisms are
given a genus name(a noun, given a capital
letter), followed by a species name(an objective,
not capitalized). The names usually are
combinations of Greek and/or Latin words that
describe the organism and are written in italics.
The short-tail nurse shark is named Ginglymostoma
brevicaudatum. Ginglymostomata is Greek for
hinge-mouth and brevicaudatum is Latin for
short-tailed. Sometimes the names commemorate the
people who described the animal or the places the
organism is found. For example, the Port Jackson
shark is named Heterodontus portusjacksoni. Befor
e an organism is given a name it must be
classified. Scientists do this using taxonomy.
They first determine which kingdom (Animalia,
Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Monera) the organism
belongs in. Next, they determine which phylum an
organism belongs in. The animal kingdom consists
of about 30 different phyla. A phylum is
determined by what type of body plan an animal
has. A crab and a human are in different phyla,
but sharks and humans are in the same phylum
because they both have notochords Phylum
Chordata (dorsal tube). Animals with protective
coverings over their notochord are in the
sub-phylum Vertebrata. There are 7 classes in
sub-phylum Vertebrata.
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CLASSES
Agnatha- jawless fishes (lampreys and hagfish)
Chondrichthyes- cartilage skeletons (sharks and
rays)
Osteichthyes- bony fishes
Amphibia- frogs, toads, and salamanders
Reptilia- snakes, lizards, turtles, and
crocodilians
Aves- birds
Mammalia- all mammals
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Chondrichthyes
Sharks belong to the class of cartilaginous
fishes called Chondrichthyes. There are 8 orders
of sharks.
Hexachiformes (six-gilled shapes) Squaliformes
(shark shapes) Pristiphorimores ( saw-carrier
shapes) Squatiniformes (angel-fish
shapes) Heterodontiformes (different teeth
shapes) Orectolobiformes (extended tail-lobed
shapes) Lamniformes (fish of prey
shapes) Carcharhiniformes (jagged rasp shapes)
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HEXANCHIFORMES
Frilled shark- Chlamydoselachus angiuneus

• Six-gilled shapes
• 2 Families
• Chlamydoselachidae-Frilled sharks
• Hexanchidae- Cow sharks

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SQUALIFORMES
Squalus acanthias

• The Latin word squalus means shark
• 3 families
• Echinorhinidae-Bramble sharks
• Squalidae-Dogfish sharks
• Oxynotidae-Roughsharks

8
PRISTIOFORMES
Common sawshark Pristiophorus cirratus

• saw-carrier forms
• 1 family
• Pristiophoridae

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SQUANTINIFORMES

• Angel-fish shapes
• 1 family
• Squantinidae
• Angelsharks
• sand devils
• monk sharks

Pacific angelshark- Squatina californica
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HETERODONTIFORMES
Heterodontus francisci

• Different teeth
• 1 family
• Heterodontidae
• small front teeth and large back teeth
• Bullhead sharks
• horn sharks

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ORECTOLOBIFORMES

• extended tail lobes
• 7 families
• Parascyllidae-Collared carpetsharks
• Brachaeluridae-Blind sharks
• Orectolobidae-Wobbegongs
• Hemiscylliidae-Bamboosharks
• Stegostomatidae-Zebra sharks
• Ginglymostomatidae-Nurse sharks
• Rhiniodontidae-Whale sharks

Orectolobus maculatus
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LAMNIFORMES

• From the Greek word lamna (a fish of prey)
• common name Mackerel sharks
• 7 families
• Lamnidae-Great white shark
• Alopiidae-Thresher sharks
• Cetorhinidae-Basking sharks
• Megachasmidae-Megamouth sharks
• Pseudocarchariidae-Crocodile sharks
• Mitsukurinidae-Goblin sharks
• Odontaspididae-Sandtiger Sharks

Isurus oxyrinchus
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CARCHARHINIFORMES
Galeocerdo cuvier

• jagged rasp teeth, skin, or both
• Ground sharks
• 8 families
• Scyliorhinidae-Catsharks
• Proscyllidae-Finback catsharks
• Pseudotriakidae-False catsharks
• Leptochariidae-Barbelled houndsharks
• Triakidae- Houndsharks
• Hemigaleidae-Weasel sharks
• Carcharhinidae- Requiem sharks
• Sphyrnidae-Hammerhead sharks

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Taxonomy of a shark species
Kingdom- Animalia Phylum- Chordata Class-
Chondrichthyes Order- Lamniformes Family-
Lamnidae Genus- Carcharodon Species- carcharias
Do you know the common name of this shark? What
other names is it called?
Common Name The Great White Shark
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Choose a category from the list below and create
your own taxonomic classification system.

• CATEGORIES
• books
• cars
• clothes
• miscellaneous
• music
• sports

TASK 1
For example, if you choose the category of art,
you must categorize an artist. The broad category
of art is analogous to the kingdom, and the
artists name is analogous to the genus and
species.
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TASK 2
Create a graphic organizer (e.g., affinity
diagram, spider web, lotus flower, fishbone,
mind map) demonstrating the taxonomy of various
shark species. Use the websites on the credits
page to search for the names of shark species.
Begin the organizer with the class of sharks.
The final product should have the class, 8
orders, 30 families, and the genus, species, and
common names of 30 sharks.
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CREDITS
Websites http//daphne.palomar.edu/animal/default.
htm http//www.sp2000.org/ http//www.seaworld.org
/Sharks/classification.html http//www.pbs.org/wgb
h/nova/sharks/world/taxonomy.html http//www.flmnh
.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/sharks.htm http//www.keil.uk
ans.edu/ http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/taxo
nomyhome.html/ index.cgi?chapterresources http//
www.oceanstar.com/shark/ http//www.geocities.com/
RainForest/Andes/2771/gallery.html www.wavcenral.c
om www.soundamerica.com www.movietunes.com
Sounds 6000 Sound Effects- Cosmi
Corporation 10,000 Graphics Pack- GraphicCorp