Friendly Shark Applique

Sharks are fish from the class of cartilaginous fish. Most sharks eat fish and other larger marine animals; the two largest shark species, the whale shark, which can be up to 14 m long and weighs 12 t, and the basking shark, as well as the greatmouth shark, feed essentially on plankton. Many shark species are threatened by overfishing.

Sharks represent a group of over 500 species, some of which vary considerably in size and appearance. The smallest known species of shark are the dwarf lantern shark and the cylindrical lantern shark with a body length of only 16 to 20 centimetres and a weight of about 150 grams. The largest species are the whale shark, up to 14 metres long and weighing 12 tonnes, and the basking shark, up to 10 metres long, both of which feed almost exclusively on plankton. Among the carnivorous and hunting species, the great white shark is the largest species with a maximum length of up to 7 metres, while the extinct basking shark Megalodon probably reached a total length of 14 to a maximum of 20 metres. About half of all shark species reach a body length of about one metre, with 20 per cent of all species exceeding 2 metres.