A side view of a shark swimming through water.

Sharks & Rays

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Great hammerhead in Bimini, Bahamas.

Shark Overview

Are you a student researching sharks or someone looking to learn more about sharks? This overview dives into everything to know.

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Featured Content

a megamouth shark swims with a diver in the background

The Massive Filter Feeding Shark You Ought to Know

A shark tooth embedded in a bone

What the Megalodon Left Behind

a bull shark in a net

How Climate Change is Impacting Shark Mothering

The Cook islands banknote

Sharks and Humans: A Love-Hate Story

Freshly cut dorsal fin from a scalloped hammerhead shark held by fisherman with knife.

Shark Finning: Sharks Turned Prey

Are You An Educator?

At Smithsonian Ocean, we have lesson plans, activities, and resources to help you engage your students in the wonders of our oceans.

See All Lesson Plans see shark lesson plans

Sharks & Rays Articles

The dwarf lantern shark sits in a human hand.

5 Reasons to Revere, Not Fear, the Shark

A close-up image of a fossil shark jaw with teeth.

Shark Teeth Tell Great White Shark Evolution Story

Freshly cut dorsal fin from a scalloped hammerhead shark held by fisherman with knife.

Shark Finning: Sharks Turned Prey

Caribbean reef sharks swim over a coral reef in the Bahamas.

Ocean Portal's Top Shark Resources

A thresher shark was killed after becoming stuck in a gillnet.

Good-Bye Gillnet, Hello Shark Recovery!

A great white shark in the waters of the coast of Guadelupe, Mexico.

How Realistic is the Shark Science in "The Shallows"?

The Cook islands banknote

Sharks and Humans: A Love-Hate Story

An orange sunset over the ocean.

What’s the Ocean Worth...in Dollars?

Two nurse sharks hover over a baited cage

Shark Snapshot - Saving sharks with an underwater photoshoot

A shortfin mako glides through the waters off the coast of California.

The State of Sharks, 40 Years After Jaws

Eugenie Clark collecting specimens on a dive.

Eugenie Clark - The Shark Lady

A scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) at Isla del Coco, Costa Rica.

Do Sharks Smell in Stereo?

Banner Credit

George Probst, flickr