Is a shark an animal?

Similarly, great whites are sharks, and sharks are fish, and fish are animals. Think of evolution as a great tree of life -- a very common and illuminating metaphor that goes back at least to Darwin. At each branch, two descendents issue from a common ancestor -- for example, dinosaurs and pterosaurs split about 230 million years ago. read more

The perception of sharks as dangerous animals has been popularized by publicity given to a few isolated unprovoked attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, and through popular fictional works about shark attacks, such as the Jaws film series. read more

Sharks also replace their teeth constantly, as opposed to mammals, which either replace their teeth once or not at all. Finally, sharks have the ability to breathe underwater, whereas mammals, even whales and dolphins, must breathe air. read more