Fish Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ fish species — freshwater, saltwater, reef, and pelagic — with habitat, size, diet, behavior, and how to tell them apart.
Galapagos Shark
A large, robust gray shark commonly encountered around remote oceanic islands, closely resembling the Dusky and Silky Sharks but slightly stockier.
saltwater
Whale Shark
The largest fish in the world, a gentle filter-feeding shark covered in a distinctive checkerboard pattern of pale spots and stripes, found in warm seas worldwide.
cartilaginous
Tiger Shark
A large, robust shark named for the dark vertical bars on its flanks, most vivid in juveniles, known for an unusually broad, opportunistic diet.
cartilaginous
Thresher Shark
An unmistakable shark with an extraordinarily long, whip-like upper tail lobe used to stun schooling prey, found roaming temperate and tropical open oceans worldwide.
cartilaginous
Sixgill Shark
A massive, ancient-lineage deep-sea shark with six gill slits instead of the usual five, found from shallow fjords to depths beyond 2,000 m.
deepsea
Salmon Shark
A powerful, warm-bodied mackerel shark closely related to the Porbeagle, built for speed in the cold North Pacific and named for its preference for salmon.
pelagic
Reef Shark
A common, streamlined shark patrolling Indo-Pacific coral reefs, recognized by its broad black-edged tail fin and stout gray body.
reef
Nurse Shark
A slow-moving, bottom-dwelling shark with a broad flattened head and two barbels near its nostrils, often seen resting motionless on the seafloor or under ledges by day.
cartilaginous
Megamouth Shark
An enormous, gentle filter-feeding shark with a massive rounded mouth, discovered only in 1976 and still one of the rarest sharks on record.
deepsea
Mako Shark
The fastest shark species, built for speed with a sleek, metallic blue body, pointed snout, and crescent-shaped tail, roaming open temperate and tropical oceans worldwide.
cartilaginous
Leopard Shark
A slender, boldly patterned houndshark common in shallow California bays, easily recognized by its dark saddle-like blotches and spots.
cartilaginous
Lemon Shark
A stocky, yellow-brown coastal shark named for its sandy coloration, recognized by two nearly equal-sized dorsal fins, common in shallow mangrove and reef habitats of the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific.
cartilaginous
Horn Shark
A small, harmless bottom shark with heavy brow ridges and two sharp dorsal spines, common along the California coast.
cartilaginous
Epaulette Shark
A small, slender reef shark famed for 'walking' across exposed reef flats on its paddle-like fins, marked by a large dark eyespot behind each gill.
reef
Bull Shark
A stocky, grey shark famous for its extreme tolerance of fresh and brackish water, allowing it to travel far up rivers and live in freshwater lakes far from the ocean.
cartilaginous
Blue Shark
A slender, wide-ranging oceanic shark with a striking indigo-blue back, long pointed pectoral fins, and large eyes, found throughout temperate and tropical open oceans worldwide.
cartilaginous
Bala Shark
A torpedo-shaped, silver freshwater fish named for its shark-like body outline, though it is a true minnow relative, not a shark. Bold black margins on its fins make it a striking, fast-swimming schooler of Southeast Asian rivers.
freshwater
Zebra Shark
A slender, docile reef shark whose striped juveniles transform into leopard-like spotted adults, unmistakable due to its very long tail.
reef
Spinner Shark
A slender, high-speed coastal shark famous for leaping and spinning out of the water while lunging through schools of baitfish.
saltwater
Silky Shark
A slender, deep-water pelagic shark with smooth, silky-textured skin, among the most abundant sharks found around tropical open-ocean waters.
pelagic
Sandbar Shark
A robust, migratory requiem shark named for its very tall, triangular first dorsal fin, common in coastal nursery bays worldwide.
cartilaginous
Greenland Shark
A massive, slow-moving Arctic shark believed to be the longest-lived vertebrate on Earth, with lifespans possibly exceeding 250 years.
deepsea
Hammerhead Shark
A shark instantly recognizable by its flattened, laterally extended hammer-shaped head, often seen in large daytime schools near seamounts and coastal areas.
cartilaginous
Iridescent Shark
Despite its name, this is a large freshwater catfish, not a shark, recognized in juveniles by an iridescent sheen and dark stripes that fade with age.
freshwater