SHARKS

CARCHARINIFORMES
Commonly known as ground sharks, the order includes the blue, tiger, bull, grey reef, blacktip reef, blacktail reef, whitetip reef, and oceanic whitetip sharks (collectively called the requiem sharks) along with the houndsharks, catsharks, and hammerhead sharks. They are distinguished by an elongated snout and a nictitating membrane which protects the eyes during an attack.

Lusca

Around certain tropical islands within the Grey Ocean are Blue Hole. These "Blue Areas" around the ocean are vast networks of undersea caverns that existed during the Ice Age, connected between the freshwater on the islands and the Grey Ocean. These "Blue areas" are where the Lusca dwell.

This shark's method of attack is unusual; it creates a whirlpool around its intended target and drags them under to its watery lair, where it feasts upon it unfortunate victims.

In appearance, the average Lusca is a mix of shark and octopus, the plating around the nose suggesting a combo of an octopus's beak and shark's teeth, barbed suckers on the tentacles, and and a pair of siphons attached to ink sacs.

Squark

A longer, leaner relative of the lusca that lives in the open ocean, chasing large fish.

Dire Hammerhead

Native to the Grey Ocean, this massive shark, like the Isonade, does not need to rely on its teeth alone when attacking prey. The skull of this species is reinforced, making an effective battering ram.

Sky Shark

Massive but solitary predators, Sky Sharks are the main predator of the Airbeast, but this can often backfire, as Airbeasts will also hunt them, as will the Mirrorca.

Thunder Shark

Created by the ancient Shetlanteans, these sharks are capable of firing electrical and sonic blasts.

Dakuwaqa

Native to the Great Pelagic Ocean, specifically tropical areas, the Dakuwaqa is similar in size to the Megalodon, but is more commonly found around islands rather than the open ocean.

Rottweiler Shark

A 6-foot-long freshwater shark found in the rivers of Jurassica so named for its attack strategy of clamping down with its razor-sharp teeth and shaking its head from side to side to dislodge enormous pieces of meat.

Wolverine Shark

A large, highly aggressive shark, closely related to the much smaller weasel shark of Hosstralia, found in the Emerald Sea, these 20-foot-long predators are also known by quite a few other names: berserker shark, war shark, fleshtearer, grey death, and many others, while local legend paints them as brutal, bloodthirsty monsters. The truth is... actually not that far off. Wolverine sharks are highly, HIGHLY territorial animals; they have to be, considering the amount of competition in their environment provided by the local marine reptiles. Able to largely shrug off pain and keep attacking even when critically injured, these large sharks are absolutely vicious fighters, going for the face, joints, genitals-whatever would cause the greatest pain. This aggression pays off: very few predators are willing to risk maiming by attacking a wolverine shark.

Disk-Headed Shark

A small, strange species of hammerhead shark found in the Marediterranean.

Long-Snouted Snatcher Shark

A species of subterranean hammerhead shark that uses its many tentacles to snatch up prey both above and underneath the water, as well as to pull itself along the ground at fairly reasonable speeds. (Or, as many may describe it, far faster that a shark on land has any right to be)

Jigsaw Shark

An earth pony-sized, but still highly aggressive species of shark found around Typhon.

Terlen

A 13-foot-long shark of the Grey Ocean that can launch itself out of the water and glide on its large fins.

Loaf Shark

A very small, pudgy shark the size of a cat, named for its resemblance to a loaf of bread, that is found around the coastlines of Hawai'i that feeds on mollusks, plankton, and water plants. It is actually capable of scooting around on land for short periods of time, typically to raid tide pools and get back into the water if beached.

Downgazer

A midsized mutated hammerhead shark found in the various bays of Boardor's Neon Sea with a second set of eyes on the underside of its head.

Axehead Shark

A relative of the hammerhead shark found in the Great Pelagic and Crystal Oceans with large, sharpened denticles on its 'hammerhead', which it uses as a devastating bludgeoning weapon. Schools of these sharks are known to swarm much larger sea creatures like whales and even Megalodons, headbutting again and again with their sharpened blade-like heads until their prey is dead.

Cave Shark

A 5-foot-long amphibious subterranean shark with a wide range of adaptations for its environment: a stronger tail and fins for carrying it through very shallow water, skin that slowly changes color to make the surrounding stone, a compressible body for squeezing through tight passages, and more highly refined electroreceptors to compensate for the lack of light in its habitat.

Boneplate Landshark

Native to Neighpon, this 15-foot-long amphibious shark fills the niche of the crocodile, its armor plating protecting it from both the panicked lashing out of prey and the attacks of other predators.

Icearmor Landshark

Found in the northern areas of the world (like the Arctic Sea), this amphibious species can be found preying on anything that can fit into it's large, toothy maw. It uses it's jaws and claws to subdue prey, but also has the ability to spit icy balls of water, or even fire a powerful stream of water when it needs to. It's also a capable burrower, usually only doing so when the going gets too rough. However, the most notable ability of this species is its ability to create ice armor around its body

Tigerstripe Landshark

A smaller, more aggressive relative of the Icearmor Landshark, this species is native to the deserts of Camelu and Saddle Arabia.

The Tigerstripe Landshar lacks the water and ice-based abilities of its cousin, but can instead inflate itself to repulsively titanic proportions, rolling around and body slamming foes.

Dragonmimic Landshark

A bipedal variety of Landshark, the Dragonmimic is slimmer than its relatives, and is actually capable of flight.

Found in mountain ranges throughout Khaan, the Dragonmimic begins its life as a small, flightless carnivore, moving on all four legs and capturing prey by ambush. After several years, the young become bipedal, and the outermost digit on their forelegs begins elongating, forming a small gliding surface which helps with extended jumps across small crevasses. Only upon reaching adulthood do these sharks become capable of flight.

LAMNIFORMES
These are commonly known as the mackerel sharks. They include the goblin shark, basking shark, megamouth shark, the thresher sharks, shortfin and longfin mako sharks, and great white shark. They are distinguished by their large jaws and ovoviviparous reproduction.

Megalodon

Measuring up to 53 feet long, Carcharadon megalodon is divided into two subspecies: C.m.orientalis, or the Eastern Megalodon, is native to the Grey Ocean, while the Western Megalodon, C.m.occidentalis, is found in the Great Pelagic Ocean.

Abyssal Megalodon

Carcharocles modernicus is a branch which split from the main Megalodon line millions of years ago. These 20-foot sharks haunt deep sea trenches.

Isonade

Native to Neighpon, these massive sharks reach up to 30 feet in length. Unusually, rather than using their teeth, they use the barbs on their tails and fins to attack their prey.

Dwarf Megalodon

One of the smallest of the living species of Megalodon, dwarf megalodons (C. m. minimus) are 20-foot predators that, while far from the top of the food chain in their native Grey Ocean, are still quite dangerous: they're just the right size to see creatures like seaponies as an adequate food source.

Serpent Shark

Born of an ancient experiment to combine draconic and shark DNA, serpent sharks are deepwater predators of the Neon Sea, hunting anything that they can find and being protected from other predators with their armored skin.

Greymark

Elongate predators native to the Great Pelagic, these sharks are opportunistic predators, and can be difficult to spot, swimming slowly and close to shore where they blend in with the rocky bottom.

Torpedo Shark

Another electric shark, the Torpedo shark is more conventional in its methods, using special muscle blocks like those of an electric eel in order to shock its prey.

Ghariwhale

Named after their resemblance to the crocodilians known as gharials, these fish have two sets of teeth. The outer row is only on the tips of the jaws. They are long, but not very sharp, and are designed for grabbing and holding prey. The inner row of teeth work like those of an anaconda; they are long, thin, sharp, and pointed towards the throat, ensuring that caught prey can do nothing but get eaten.

They will eat fish, but seem to prefer snatching things from the air. They hunt by getting as close to the prey (a flock of low flying birds, a school of fish, etc), then lashing their head to the side and clamping their jaws, snatching anything unlucky enough to get caught in the middle. They then work their lower jaw to push the prey toward the throat for consumption.

They are typically deep ocean dwellers, and come in various shades of brown and gray, though some of the more tropical ones may be smaller and come closer to shore and develop patterns to help them hide in shadows of reefs and shore plants. Shown is the more common open ocean variant, which comes in light to dark gray. Regardless of where they live, they all have certain coloring in common: Dark on top, light on bottom, teeth and eyes are cream to yellow, not true white, and their color darkens at extremities.

Thorn Shark

Extremely venomous, bad-tempered freshwater sharks from Boardor with incredibly potent toxins in their spines

Gull Shark

56-inch-long natives to the Crystal Ocean that can leap out of the water and soar through the air for several hundred feet.

Badlands Siltsurfer

The size of a great white shark, these big brutes of the Equestrian Badlands essentially 'swim' through soft earth, leaping out of the ground and slamming into prey with their full weight, massive jaws snapping shut and dragging the unlucky animal down beneath the soil. Fortunately, these terrestrial sharks prefer to go after burrowing prey-graboids are a particular favorite.

Giant Siltsurfer

Also known as the Saddle Arabian Siltsurfer, the Zebrican Siltsurfer, and the Desert Megalodon, this is a larger relative of the Badlands Siltsurfer. Found in the deserts of Saddle Arabia, Camelu, and Zebrica, this massive fish has extensible jaws similar to those of a fish known as the sarcastic fringehead. Unlike those fish, the jaws only serve a secondary display purpose, mainly being used to grip onto larger prey such as Sandworms or Desert Leviathans. However, Giant Siltsurfers are not picky, and may even attack low-flying airships

Broiler Shark

A 6-foot-long native of the Simmering Sea, able to coat itself in magical flames that defy the laws of nature and burn underwater

Vampire Thundershark

only distantly related to the Thunder Shark, this flying predator can generate a powerful long-distance electrical shock, stunning other creatures long enough for the shark to constrict in its wing-like fins and begin draining blood. For unknown reasons, it prefers to hunt in the midst of hurricanes or other powerful storms, and may follow such weather for hundreds of miles.

Orthrushark

Orthrusharks are 20' long, silver-gray monstrosities that prowl the Great Pelagic in a never-ending quest for fresh meat. Aggressive and territorial, they attack any vessels that enter their domain.

Othrusharks are acutely sensitive to electrical fields, and are both drawn to, and irritated by, them. Sustained electrical current will drive the beasts into an antagonistic frenzy.

Cerberushark

A massive 40-foot-long shark found in the deepest subterranean seas, this three-headed monster is a widely feared apex predator.

Glass Shark

A coastal species of shark from Purrsia that 'swims' through the sands of the beaches as easily as it swims through the water.

Spider Shark

Also known as the 'fearfish', 'terror shark,' 'fear itself,' and 'NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE!,' the spider shark is an amphibious predator, no doubt born form some mad mage's genetic experiments, that is found in the estuaries of Boardor. It hunts prey by leaping forwards on its many legs and attacking with the retractable scythe-like claws on the tips of the front two limbs, its razor-sharp teeth, and its ability to fire a jet of pressurized acid from its mouth. The specimen pictured here is doing a threat display, flushing certain areas of its face with blood to turn them bright red, giving the appearance of a clown's makeup.

Shockgoblin

A smaller cousin to the goblin shark found around Jurassica's coastlines, these 2-foot-long animals are named for their ability to generate a powerful electrical shock.

ORECTOLOBIFORMES
These are commonly referred to as the carpet sharks, including zebra sharks, nurse sharks, wobbegongs, and the whale shark.

Giant Ground Shark

Megaorectolobus fatalis is the largest and most dangerous kind of wobbegong, reaching 6 metres long. Despite its name, it can be found in the Great Pelagic Ocean. Unlike other large sharks it is a bottom dweller, sitting camouflaged on the ocean floor to ambush fish, crustaceans, and octopi of fairly large size, prey is swallowed whole.

Narrowfin Nurse Shark

Fairly large nurse sharks found around the coastlines of the Crystalline Raj that typically reach about 13 feet in length. They generally prefer to eat smaller bottom-dwelling animals, but attacks on small sharks aren't uncommon.

Saddle Shark

Saddle sharks are small bamboo sharks/longtail carpet sharks from the coral reefs of the Marediterranean. They are up to 70 cm long, slender and wonderfully colored. This species is most active during twilight and feeds on small, slow fish and invertebrates of all sorts.

Seaweed Shark

A small relative of the carpet shark the size of a shoebox that conceals itself in growths of seaweed in the Marediterranean waters it calls home.

Long-Wattled Ghost Shark

A totally blind abyssal shark found in the frigid waters of the northern Grey Ocean, this bottom feeder gets its name from its dead white, partially transparent skin.

SQUALIFORMES
This group includes the dogfish sharks and roughsharks.

Swordfin Roughshark

A little nocturnal shark from the coral reefs of the Marediterranean Sea. Roughsharks are very strange fish, small with a very robust build and triangular when viewed as a cross section. The swordfin roughshark stays in deeper water during the day and patrols along the edges of the reefs during the night to catch crustaceans, worms and slow, small fishes. Sometimes they occur in small unorganized groups of three to five.

HETERODONTIFORMES
These are generally referred to as the bullhead or horn sharks.

Great Shellcrusher

A 30-foot-long shellfish eater of the Emerald Sea that occasionally spices up its diet with ammonites and smallish turtles.

CUMERAGULIDS
Consisting of two species of highly derived sharks

Trawlers

Consisting of two species, the seapipe and the peanut trawler, these sharks are able to keep their blood temperature above that of the water they live in, which allows them to stay active throughout the year despite the drastic changes in temperature.

Having lost almost their entire skeleton, their only internal support is a lightweight cartilaginous skull and flexible jaw. This jaw supports their eponymic gullet that leads directly to their stomach. Their skin is made of elastic fibers that surround their bodies in a basket-like network. Not only do these fibers make their skin very flexible yet tough, they also act as as an outer skeleton to which their muscles attach. Their microscopic dermal denticles reduce turbulence when swimming , giving them hydrodynamic advantages.

Growing up to 60cm in length, the seapipe is not only the largest species of trawler. Seapipes have stout bolt-shaped bodies that end in a strong, paddle-like tails which makes up half of their entire length. Their small eyes can only differentiate between light and darkness and are used to look out for predators above them. To compensate for their poor eyesight, they rely on their acute electrical sensitivity and are able to see their surroundings through strong electric fields. Their hoop-like jaw is attached at the top to the skull through a hinge, allowing it to be pressed tightly against the seapipes’ bodies to reduce drag. When folded forwards, it stretches their gullet to take in their microscopic food.

While their larger relatives prefer open waters, peanut trawlers seek refuge in the vast seagrass steppes. They are named after their large, sack-like gullets that are supported by a vertically opening jaw. Only growing up to 20cm in length, they are often preyed upon by larger animals. Its body is elongated and slightly compressed laterally, consisting of three segments of roughly the same length: The head, the actual body and the tail.

HYBODONTIFORMES
Relics of the past, Hybodonts were named and are distinguished based on their conical tooth shape. They comprised the main group of Jurassic sharks in Stirrope and Equus.

Grabshark

A slow-moving predator, Grabsharks are ambush predators who use their unique tongues to capture their prey.

Sand Wyvern Shark

8-foot-long hunters native to the Emerald Sea that feed off of fish, squid and small marine tetrapods. As their name suggests, they are quite similar to sand tiger sharks.

Pebble Shark

A very small hybodontid shark, around 30 cm in length, that is found in the shallow coastal waters around Skull Island. This shark pursues a quite odd, specialized lifestyle, which is obvious to anyone who observes it: it finds food by overturning stones. It will forage by wedging its nose against the edge of loose seabed stones, writhing and pushing the stone aside or flipping it, to reveal small prey items hiding beneath (worms, snails, starfish, urchins, cnidarians). This shark will also use its nose to disturb the sediment to flush out small creatures, when it's not foraging beneath stones. As such, the nose is strongly reinforced with calcified cartilage. The dentition consists of short conical teeth at the front, and rounded tooth plates at the back, with these it can crush the shells and plating of its invertebrate prey so long as they are not too large. It is not a particularly strong swimmer, and usually stays close to the seabed.

Mangrove Stick Shark

Another small, specialized hybodont, this 2-foot-long shark is a master of camouflage: its streamlined pike-like shape and the placement of fins and spines allow it to imitate floating driftwood or sticks in the water of the mangrove swamps of Skull Island. Spending most of its time drifting suspended in the water, it maintains its position by gently beating its fins, such subtle control also allows it to mimic the movement of a stick in the current. This act has a purpose, inevitably small fish or shrimp will be enticed to shelter beneath the apparent safety of what they think is only some harmless driftwood, this is when the shark springs into action. As soon as small prey comes near to seek shade or investigate, the stick-shark will quickly surge forward and catch it in its large, spiky-toothed mouth. Its teeth are long and thin, like needles, and designed to catch and hold. A secondary purpose of its stick disguise is to protect it from any keen eyed larger predators, such as dinosaurs, phytosaurs, pterosaurs and so on.

Plated Shark

The plated shark, or hiu berlapis, as it is called in the native tongue (Massoselache placoderma), is a 4-foot-long freshwater fish found in still bodies of water such as Skull Island's lakes and swamps. It is predatory but fairly slow moving, and gets much of its food through scavenging or taking nonlethal slabs of flesh from larger animals. Smaller prey is also taken when possible, particularly crustaceans, freshwater rays, and other bottom feeders. When fully grown this shark can reach lengths of 1.3 meters long and can weigh nearly 60kg at maximum size. Their high weight for their length can be attributed to both the thick, conical body and the thick bone-like cartilage plates which form large rectangular shields on either side of the body. These shields, while made of cartilage, are very hard and form a very efficient armour against phytosaurs and other potential predators. Only catfish, which simply inhale their victims, can routinely prey upon this shark. The teeth of this species are wide and have smooth cutting edges. The roof of the mouth has been partially ossified and enables hard shells to be crushed. Fully grown Massoselache are muddy green with dark blue tints on their undersides and around the mouth. A common colour variation is lavender with the same blue tints as the standard colouration. Pregnant females become bloated and can become nearly 10kg over the course of six months. At the end of this pregnancy two to three 22cm pups are born. These pups do not have the armour of the adults but are faster swimmers, allowing them to escape potential predators while chasing down fish too fast for the adults to catch. The pups will begin to grow their shields by their third month and by the time they are two years old they will have fully armoured sides like the adults. This species isn't very common, but is not endangered either. Native legend claims that these sharks are pony-eaters, although attacks on sapients have never been recorded. In fact, recent expeditions have shown that Massoselache generally ignore ponies, doing little more than giving them an curious nudge with the snout before going back to their business.

Tridenttooth

A 20-foot-long predator of Concordia's river deltas and the Coastal Expanse, tridenttteeth are named for their vicious triple-pointed fangs, which prevent the escape of even the most slippery of prey. The spine on its fin is only found in the males, and contains special chemicals within it that cause it to glow a faint yellow in the dark.

XENACANTHIDS
An order of prehistoric sharks that appeared during the Lower Carboniferous period. As with the placodonts, it's unknown how they've managed to survive this long.

Mangrove Eelshark

A meter-long swamp-dweller that lives in the Coastal Expanse, feeding on fish and amphibians.

Four-Eyed Armorshark

A 25-foot-long serpentine predator found lurking in the underwater caves of Jurassica.

EUGENEODONTIDS
Despite their appearance, these creatures are not actually sharks, being more closely related to the Ratfishes

Sawseal

A small creature native to Concordia's swamps, the Sawseal is capable of limited terrestrial movement.

Snagglefang

A highly aggressive eight-foot-long subterranean predator that has developed an extra pair of eyes to peer through the gloom of its habitat.

Spiraltooth

Another subterranean species, the spiraltooth's strange lower jaw can actually uncoil and strike at prey, sort of like a toothy punch.

RAYS

Haniver

A HIGHLY derived ray, the Hanivers are forest-dwellers found throughout Stirrope, Khaan, and Equus. These are fliers which sleep upside down while clinging to tree branches with their tails, camouflaged to resemble a bunch of leaves to avoid being preyed upon.

Fire Ghast

Not to be confused with the baboon relative known as a Ghast, Fire Ghasts are flying cave-dwellers capable of spitting fireballs

Ethereal Manta

Smallish bioluminescent manta rays native to the Crystal Ocean, these secretive rays are capable of phasing through solid matter for several seconds at a time, although their glowing bodies do give them away.

Armored Desert Ray

Originally spawned from a mixture of radiation, a cocktail of questionable and dangerous chemicals, and the resident manta rays from an aquarium in Boardor; the armored desert ray is a fairly common yet deadly aerial predator in Boardor.

Riding the warm air currents across the hot desert landscape, the rays hunt for prey with their keen eyesight. Swooping low, they will grab anything they can fit in their jaws; which are lined with rows of serrated teeth. They are extremely difficult to evade due to their high speeds but the species is rather dull and can often be distracted by tossing flares.

The average wingspan of the armored desert ray is 10 feet. They have been known on many an occasion to attack ponies and larger creatures, but cannot lift them off the ground, so they sustain many an injury tumbling in the dirt after colliding with would-be prey. Their entire back is covered in tough skin with hard ridges, hence the name. Almost nothing survives a ray attack.

They can waddle along the ground inefficiently if need be, then become airborne by flapping their wings hard enough to create lift. Most rays prefer to take to the air by jumping off buildings or cliffs.

The rays reproduce via parthenogenesis. They make their nests on any high altitude surface they can find. They can be found sleeping upside-down, hanging by the tail from trees and telephone wires. A sleeping ray should NEVER be disturbed.

Nether Ray

Closely related to the fire ghast, nether rays are subterranean omnivores that flit through the fungi forests of the Underdark, feeding on whatever they can find.

Nether rays have a unique way of achieving flight; their "wings" being tiny in comparison to other flying animals. They use a specialized gland on their underside to host colonies of bacteria that produce lighter-than-air gas. This gas produces a pocket under the ray that keeps it afloat, and the ray uses its "wings" to keep the gas pocket under its body. To achieve propulsion, the ray uses its "wings" to squeeze the gas towards its anal region and out a specialized orifice, where it controls the flow of the gas with its two feather-like tails, and undulates its third paddle-like tail through the stream, giving the nether ray added lift and propulsion. Since the nether ray uses gas to counteract gravity instead of "fighting" against it using lift, it is able to perform just as well as other flying animals, despite its small size.

Cloud Ray

A much larger, more peaceful cousin to the armoured desert ray that filter-feeds on aeroplankton.

Roc Ray

A colossal relative of the eagle ray found in the Crystal Ocean, this immense animal rivals most species of Megalodon in its sheer size, but it's quite harmless to anything that isn't plankton.

Ixitxachital

Deadly, highly intelligent creatures found along the coasts of Tapiri, ixitxachital (Pronounced Icks-it-ZAK-ittle) are aggressive carnivores that attack with their nightmarish tooth-filled mouths and their barbed tails.