| Family | Cat Sharks | Finback Cat Sharks
| False Catsharks | Barbeled Houndshark | Smoothhound Sharks | Weasel Sharks | Whaler Sharks
| Hammerhead Sharks |
Scyliorhinidae
| Proscylliidae | Pseudotriakidae | Leptochariidae | Triakidae | Hemigaleidae | Carcharhinidae | Sphyrnidae |
# of species
| 150 | 5
| 4 | 1
| 47
| 8
| 54 | 8
|
Body
| Generally small--3 feet. Cat-like eyes with rudimentary nictitating membrane. First dorsal behind pelvic fins. | Small, 6 to 7.6 inches, although pups can be 4 inches at birth. | To 10 feet, slender. First dorsal fin is long and low. Soft, dark-brown body. Eyes appear to squint, nictating membranes. Ovoviviparous. | Small, slender, to 2.5 feet. internal nictitating eyelids. Nostrils have thin barbels. Light grey or grey-brown shark. Dorsal fins of equal size. Viviparous. | Slender body, small to moderate-sized sharks up to 6.5 feet. Long, pointed snout and long, angular mouth. Otherwise, similar to Whaler Sharks. | Small to medium sized, similar in form to Whaler Sharks.
| Most 'typical of shark form. Solid build. Size range from 3 to 10 ft. Eyes with nictitating membranes. All but Tiger Sharks are viviparous with placenta | Flattened, hammer-like extensions on head, with eyes at ends. Body moderatey slender. |
Food
| Small fish, invertebrates | Small fish, invertebrates | Fish | Crustaceans, small fish | Crustaceans, cephalopods, and fish.
| Small fish, cephalopods, crustaceans | Fish, eels, other sharks, skates, squid, crustaceans | Mostly bony fish, squid. |
Habitat | Well dispersed world-wide, from shallow tropical to arctic. Especially African & Australian seas. Deep water to 6,600 feet.
| Tropical to warm temperate waters. Moderately deep to 2,300 feet. | Deep water 660 to 4,900 feet. Bottom dwelling. All oceans. | Tropical ,West African continental shelf, 70 to 230 feet near river mouths, muddy bottoms. | Tropical and temperate seas. Cose to the bottom, ranging from coastal shallows to 6,500 feet with some species. | Coastal tropical eastern Atlantic and continental Indo-West Pacific. Depths from shallow to 320 feet, | Worldwide, warm and temperate oceans.
| Warm temperate & tropical oceans over continental shelves. To 900 feet. |
