Over the globe, sharks are distributed widely in the open waters – from shallow water to the deepest part of the ocean. The fascinating creatures are found swimming and floating in almost all the oceans and seas of the world. Other than the aquatic and marine environment, sharks are also spotted in saline waters, freshwater lakes, and rivers. The presence of sharks in all parts of the world indicates that there is a wide variety of sharks that exist. The living habitat of sharks also varies from species to species depending upon various environmental conditions.
Let’s study more about the distribution of sharks and their habitat.
Distribution Of Sharks
There are hundreds of sharks that live in aquatic as well as marine habitats. They prefer warm water in temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions. The selection of habitats depends upon different environmental conditions such as temperature, climate changes, light, and warm water. Moreover, some species prefer to live deep in the ocean water whereas others thrive near the shoreline.
Geographical Distribution Of Sharks
Geographically sharks are distributed in the following regions of the world:
Oceanic Regions
In the oceanic regions the famous shark species are spotted in the following areas:
1: North Atlantic Ocean
- Bluntnose sixgill shark
- Great hammerhead
- Great white shark
2: South Atlantic Ocean
- Blue shark
- Oceanic whitetip shark
- Scalloped hammerhead
3: Indian Ocean
- Dusky shark
- Great white shark
- Kitefin shark
4: North Pacific Ocean
- Big-eye thresher
- Bignose shark
- Blacktip reef shark
5: South Pacific Ocean
- Catshark
- Cookiecutter shark
- Crocodile shark
6: Arctic Region
- Greenland shark
- Porbeagle shark
- Thresher shark
7: Southern Ocean
- Gummy shark
- Southern Sleeper shark
- Porbeagle shark
Seas And Coastal Regions
In this region, the sharks are distributed in the following areas:
1: Gulf Of Mexico
- American saw shark
- Atlantic sharp-nose shark
- Big-eye thresher
2: Caribbean Sea
- Bignose shark
- Blacknose shark
- Blacktip shark
3: North Sea
- Angel shark
- Angular rough shark
- Basking shark
4: Mediterranean Sea
- Bird-beak dogfish
- Black-mouth cat-shark
- Black-tip reef shark
5: Black Sea
- Longnose spurdog shark
- Small-spotted cats-hark
- Smooth hammerhead shark
6: Red Sea
- Brown-banded bamboo shark
- Coral cat-shark
- Dusky shark
7: Arabian Sea
- Arabian carpet shark
- Blackspot shark
- Bramble shark
8: Bay Of Bengal
- Bull shark
- Graceful shark
- Gray reef shark
Coastal Regions
Common species of sharks spotted in the coastal regions are:
1: Australia, New Zealand
- Australian blacktip shark
- Australian spotted catshark
- Basking shark
2: East Coast Of Africa
- African spotted cat-shark
- Bramble shark
- Brown shy shark
3: West Coast Of Africa
- Angular rough shark
- Atlantic weasel shark
- Barbeled hound shark
4: East Coast Of North America
- American saw shark
- Atlantic sharp-nose shark
- Bonnet-head shark
5: West Coast Of North America
- Grey smooth-hound
- Iceland catshark
- Leopard shark
6: East Coast Of South America
- Caribbean reef shark
- Caribbean sharp nose shark
- Copper shark
7: West Coast Of South America
- Lemon shark
- Mexican horn shark
- Galapagos shark
Fresh Water Regions
In the freshwater habitat following species of sharks are spotted:
- Bull shark
- Ganges shark
- Spadenose shark
- Speartooth shark
Bottom Line
There are more than 500 species of shark that are distributed all over the globe, they prefer warm waters of the temperate, tropical, and subtropical zone of the Oceanic, Seas, Rivers, Coastal, and Freshwater regions. Most of the species live in the deepest part of the ocean which is why it is pretty difficult to determine the accurate number of shark species living in the open waters.
