Lamniformes
Encyclopedia
Lamniformes is an order
of shark
s commonly known as mackerel sharks (which may also refer specifically to the family Lamnidae
). It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the great white shark
, as well as more unusual representatives, such as the goblin shark
and the megamouth shark
.
Members of the order are distinguished by possessing two dorsal fin
s, an anal fin, five gill slits
, eyes without nictitating membrane
s, and a mouth extending behind the eyes.
Order Lamniformes
(Isurus oxyrinchus) to its seafood red list. "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries."
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s commonly known as mackerel sharks (which may also refer specifically to the family Lamnidae
Lamnidae
Lamnidae is a family of sharks, commonly known as mackerel sharks or white sharks. They are large, fast-swimming sharks, found in oceans worldwide....
). It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the great white shark
Great white shark
The great white shark, scientific name Carcharodon carcharias, also known as the great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. It is known for its size, with the largest individuals known to have approached...
, as well as more unusual representatives, such as the goblin shark
Goblin shark
The goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni, is a deep-sea shark, the sole living species in the family Mitsukurinidae. The most distinctive characteristic of the goblin shark is the unusual shape of its head. It has a long, trowel-shaped, beak-like rostrum or snout, much longer than other sharks' snouts...
and the megamouth shark
Megamouth shark
The megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios, is an extremely rare species of deepwater shark. Since its discovery in 1976, only a few megamouth sharks have been seen, with 53 specimens known to have been caught or sighted as of 2011, including three recordings on film...
.
Members of the order are distinguished by possessing two dorsal fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
s, an anal fin, five gill slits
Gill
A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...
, eyes without nictitating membrane
Nictitating membrane
The nictitating membrane is a transparent or translucent third eyelid present in some animals that can be drawn across the eye for protection and to moisten it while maintaining visibility. Some reptiles, birds, and sharks have a full nictitating membrane; in many mammals, there is a small...
s, and a mouth extending behind the eyes.
Species
The order Lamniformes includes seven families, with a total of sixteen living species:Order Lamniformes
- Family Alopiidae Bonaparte, 1838 (thresher sharks)
- Genus Alopias RafinesqueConstantine Samuel Rafinesque-SchmaltzConstantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, as he is known in Europe, was a nineteenth-century polymath who made notable contributions to botany, zoology, the study of prehistoric earthworks in North America and Mesoamerican ancient linguistics.Rafinesque was eccentric, and is often portrayed as an...
, 1810- Alopias pelagicus Nakamura, 1935 (Pelagic thresher) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=5891&genusname=Alopias&speciesname=pelagicus
- Alopias superciliosus R. T. LoweRichard Thomas LoweRichard Thomas Lowe was a British botanist, ichthyologist, malacologist, and clergyman. In 1825 he graduated from Christ's College, Cambridge and in the same year took holy orders. He became a clergyman in the Madeira Islands in 1832, where he was a part-time naturalist, extensively studying the...
, 1841 (Bigeye thresher) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=2534&genusname=Alopias&speciesname=superciliosus - Alopias vulpinus (BonnaterrePierre Joseph BonnaterreAbbé Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre was a French naturalist who contributed sections on cetaceans, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects to the Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique...
, 1788) (Common thresher) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=2535&genusname=Alopias&speciesname=vulpinus
- Genus Alopias Rafinesque
- Family Cetorhinidae GillTheodore GillTheodore Nicholas Gill was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian.Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history. He was associated with J...
, 1862- Genus Cetorhinus BlainvilleHenri Marie Ducrotay de BlainvilleHenri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville was a French zoologist and anatomist.Blainville was born at Arques, near Dieppe. In about 1796 he went to Paris to study painting, but he ultimately devoted himself to natural history, and attracted the attention of Georges Cuvier, for whom he occasionally...
, 1816- Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765) (Basking shark) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=90&genusname=Cetorhinus&speciesname=maximus
- Genus Cetorhinus Blainville
- Family LamnidaeLamnidaeLamnidae is a family of sharks, commonly known as mackerel sharks or white sharks. They are large, fast-swimming sharks, found in oceans worldwide....
J. P. MüllerJohannes Peter MüllerJohannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Early years and education:...
and HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1838- Genus Carcharodon A. SmithAndrew Smith (zoologist)Sir Andrew Smith KCB was a Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. He is considered the father of Zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire...
, 1838- Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) (Great white shark) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=751&genusname=Carcharodon&speciesname=carcharias
- Carcharodon megalodon (AgassizLouis AgassizJean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
, 1843) (Megatooth shark) Extinct
- Genus IsurusIsurusIsurus is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. There are two living species, the common shortfin mako shark and the rare longfin mako shark , and several extinct species known from fossils. They range in length from 9 to 15 feet, and have an...
Rafinesque, 1810- Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810 (Shortfin mako) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=752&genusname=Isurus&speciesname=oxyrinchus
- Isurus paucus Guitart-Manday, 1966 (Longfin mako) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=753&genusname=Isurus&speciesname=paucus
- Genus LamnaLamnaLamna is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, containing two extant species: the porbeagle of the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere, and the salmon shark Lamna is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, containing two extant species: the porbeagle (L. nasus) of the...
CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, 1816- Lamna ditropis HubbsCarl Leavitt Hubbs-Youth:He was born in Williams, Arizona. He was the son of Charles Leavitt and Elizabeth Hubbs. His father had a wide variety of jobs . The family moved several times before settling in San Diego where he got his first taste of natural history...
& Follett, 1947 (Salmon shark) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=755&genusname=Lamna&speciesname=ditropis - Lamna nasus (BonnaterrePierre Joseph BonnaterreAbbé Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre was a French naturalist who contributed sections on cetaceans, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects to the Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique...
, 1788) (Porbeagle) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=88&genusname=Lamna&speciesname=nasus
- Lamna ditropis Hubbs
- Genus Carcharodon A. Smith
- Family Megachasmidae Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983
- Genus Megachasma Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983
- Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 (Megamouth shark) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=5909&genusname=Megachasma&speciesname=pelagios
- Genus Megachasma Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983
- Family MitsukurinidaeMitsukurinidaeMitsukurinidae, also called goblin sharks is a family of sharks with one living genus, Mitsukurina, and three extinct genera: Anomotodon, Pseudoscapanorhynchus and Scapanorhynchus, though some taxonomists consider Scapanorhynchus to be a synonym of Mitsukurina...
D. S. JordanDavid Starr JordanDavid Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
, 1898- Genus Mitsukurina D. S. JordanDavid Starr JordanDavid Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
, 1898- Mitsukurina owstoni D. S. JordanDavid Starr JordanDavid Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
, 1898 (Goblin shark) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=5910&genusname=Mitsukurina&speciesname=owstoni
- Mitsukurina owstoni D. S. Jordan
- Genus Mitsukurina D. S. Jordan
- Family Odontaspididae MüllerJohannes Peter MüllerJohannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Early years and education:...
& HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob HenleFriedrich Gustav Jakob Henle was a German physician, pathologist and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay "On Miasma and Contagia" was an early argument for the germ theory of disease...
, 1839- Genus CarchariasCarchariasSand sharks, or sand tigers, are lamniform sharks of the family Odontaspidae . They are found on both sides of the Atlantic coast, but most notably in the western Indian Ocean and in the Gulf of Maine...
Rafinesque, 1810- Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810 (Sand tiger shark) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=747&genusname=Carcharias&speciesname=taurus
- Carcharias tricuspidatus DayFrancis DayFrancis Day CIE was Inspector-General of Fisheries in India and Burma and an ichthyologist.He was born on 2 March 1829 Maresfield, Sussex, UK third son of William and Ann Day. He became the medical officer in the Madras Presidency, East India Company services in 1852.Francis Day was created a...
, 1878 (Indian sand tiger) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=748&genusname=Carcharias&speciesname=tricuspidatus
- Genus OdontaspisOdontaspisOdontaspis is one of two genera in the sand shark family, Odontaspididae. They are large-bodied sharks with long, conical snouts, broad-based dorsal and anal fins, and an asymmetrical caudal fin with a strong lower lobe. Their teeth are large, with prominent narrow cusps...
AgassizLouis AgassizJean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
, 1838- Odontaspis ferox (RissoAntoine RissoGiuseppe Antonio Risso , called Antoine Risso, was a Niçard naturalist.Risso was born in Nice, County of Nice, a part of the Duchy of Savoy, and studied under Giovanni Battista Balbis. He published , and . Risso's dolphin was named after him...
, 1810) (Smalltooth sand tiger) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=749&genusname=Odontaspis&speciesname=ferox - Odontaspis noronhai (MaulGünther MaulGünther E. Maul was a German ichthyologist and taxidermist in Portugal. Maul came to Madeira in the 1930s, and was the impetus for the construction of a large aquarium in Funchal....
, 1955) (Bigeye sand tiger) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=750&genusname=Odontaspis&speciesname=noronhai
- Odontaspis ferox (Risso
- Genus Carcharias
- Family Pseudocarchariidae Compagno, 1973
- Genus Pseudocarcharias Cadenat, 1963
- Pseudocarcharias kamoharai (Matsubara, 1936) (Crocodile shark) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=5923&genusname=Pseudocarcharias&speciesname=kamoharai
- Genus Pseudocarcharias Cadenat, 1963
- Family CretoxyrhinidaeCretoxyrhinidaeCretoxyrhinidae is an extinct family of sharks. Members of this family include Cretoxyrhina, a genus from the Cretaceous, and Palaeocarcharodon, a possible ancestor of the Great white shark and Carcharodon megalodon, possibly the largest shark to have lived.-External links:*...
(Extinct)
Sustainable consumption
In 2010, Greenpeace International has added the shortfin mako sharkShortfin mako shark
The shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus , is a large mackerel shark. Along with the closely related longfin mako it is commonly referred to as a "mako shark".-Etymology:...
(Isurus oxyrinchus) to its seafood red list. "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries."