5e:Shark

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Sharks
by LittleJerry
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Shark Overview 

  

Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton , five to seven gill slit s on the sides of the head , and pectoral fin s that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorpha (or Selachii) and are the sister group to the rays . However, the term "shark" has also been used for extinct members of the subclass Elasmobranchii outside the Selachimorpha, such as Cladoselache and Xenacanthus , as well as other Chondrichthyes such as the holocephalid eugenedontidans .

Under this broader definition, the earliest known sharks date back to more than 420 million years ago. Acanthodians are often referred to as "spiny sharks"; though they are not part of Chondrichthyes proper, they are a paraphyletic assemblage leading to cartilaginous fish as a whole. Since then, sharks have diversified into over 500 species. They range in size from the small dwarf lanternshark (Etmopterus perryi), a deep sea species of only Template:Convert in length, to the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the largest fish in the world, which reaches approximately Template:Convert in length. Sharks are found in all seas and are common to depths of Template:Convert. They generally do not live in freshwater although there are a few known exceptions, such as the bull shark and the river shark, which can be found in both seawater and freshwater. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles that protects their skin from damage and parasites in addition to improving their fluid dynamics. They have numerous sets of replaceable teeth.

Well-known species such as the tiger shark, blue shark, great white shark, mako shark, thresher shark, and hammerhead shark are apex predators—organisms at the top of their underwater food chain. Many shark populations are threatened by human activities.

List of Sharks

6 Sharks

Monster	Size	Type	Tags	Alignment	HP	CR	Habitat	Marked	Source
Maw of Sekolah (Individual)	Huge	Monstrosity	Shark	Neutral Evil	114	7	Coastal, Underwater	Canon, Pointer	Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Shark Overview		Overview	Beast, Shark				Underwater	Noncanon	Varied
Giant Shark	Huge	Beast	Shark	Unaligned	126	5		Canon	SRD-OGL v5.1
Hunter Shark	Large	Beast	Shark	Unaligned	45	2	Underwater	Canon	SRD-OGL v5.1
Reef Shark	Medium	Beast	Shark	Unaligned	22	1/2	Underwater	Canon	SRD-OGL v5.1, SRD-CC v5.1
Shell Shark	Medium	Monstrosity	Shark	Unaligned	32	2	Underwater	Canon, Pointer	Ghosts of Saltmarsh

Sources and Notes