Sharks of the Order Carcharhiniformes

Abstract

This book is a general review, taxonomic revision, and phylogenetic analysis of the carcharhinoids, the largest group of living sharks, which comprises almost 60 percent or 200 of known shark species. Students of shark biology have been hampered by the lack of just such a comprehensive and rigorous account of shark morphology. With this work L.J.V. Compagno offers not only the most comprehensive and detailed account of this important but neglected group to date but also one of the most comprehensive modern anatomical and phylogenetic studies on cartilaginous fishes available. It will become an essential reference not only for researchers on carcharhinoids but also for those who study other families of sharks and for paleontologists interested in this ancient group of fishes. The book begins with a general account of carcharhinoid sharks. Chapters Two through Eleven include detailed discussions of character systems used in taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis of carcharhinoids. Chapter Twelve defines the Order Carcharhiniformes, lists its families, and includes a taxonomic key to the families. Chapters Thirteen through Twenty review the eight carcharhinoid families, and Chapter Twenty-One is an extended discussion of the phylogeny of carcharhinoids, with cladistic analysis of taxa at various levels.