Elasmobranch Record Holders
| Claim to Fame | Winner | Record |
| Largest Shark (length) | Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) | 50+ ft (15 + m) |
| Largest Predatory Shark (length) | White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) |
23+ ft (7+ m) |
| Largest Batoid (length) | Green Sawfish (Pristis zijsron) |
24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Largest Batoid (width) | Manta Ray (Manta birostris) |
22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Smallest Shark (length) | Dwarf Lanternshark (Etmopterus perryi) |
7.5 in (19 cm) |
| Smallest Batoid (width) | Narcinid Electric Ray? (family Narcinidae) |
6 in (15 cm) |
| Most Abundant Shark (sheer numbers) | Spiny Dogfish? (Squalus acanthias) |
caught in ridiculous quantities |
| Most Rare Shark | Tie: 14 + species | known from a single specimen |
| Most Widely Distributed Elasmobranch | Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) |
worldwide, pelagic, boreal to tropical seas |
| Least Widely Distributed Elasmobranch | Port Davey Skate (Raja sp.) - recently discovered |
restricted to two estuarine bays in southwestern Tasmania |
| Strangest Shark (subjective) | Tassled Wobbegong (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon) |
too weird for words |
| Most Weirdly Colored Shark (subjective) | Goblin Shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) |
bubblegum pink |
| Most Brightly Luminescent Shark | Cookiecutter Shark (Isistius brasiliensis) |
can read by its greenish bioluminescence |
| Biggest Hammer (relative to size) | Winghead Shark (Eusphyra blochii) |
boomerang-shaped, width about 50% body length |
| Flattest Shark (least height in proportion to length) | Tie: Wobbegongs (family Orectolobidae) & Angel Sharks (family Squatinidae) |
both are very flat |
| Longest Tail (relative to body) | Common Thresher Shark (Alopias vulpinus) |
up to 52% of total length |
| Largest Teeth (absolute size) | White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) |
up to 2 in (5.2 cm) tall |
| Largest Teeth (relative to size) | Largetooth Cookiecutter (Isistius plutodus) |
lower teeth proportionally twice as large as in White Shark |
| Largest Eyes (relative to size) | Bigeye Thresher Shark (Alopias superciliosus) |
diameter up to 4% body length - proportionally the largest eyes of any non-avian vertebrate |
| Most Widely Traveled Shark | Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) |
3,470 mi (5,980 km) (tagging returns) |
| Deepest-Dwelling Shark (capture depth) | Portuguese Shark (Centroscymnus coelolepis) |
12,060 ft (3,675 m) |
| Shallowest-Dwelling Shark | Epaulette Shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) |
hunts in intertidal pools, several yards (metres) above sea level |
| Deepest-Dwelling Batoid (capture depth) | Rajid Skate? (Rajidae) |
9,840 ft (3,000 m) |
| Fastest Shark (greatest recorded) | Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) |
35+ mph (56+ kph) swimming speed |
| Highest Leaping Shark (height above water surface) | Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) |
reputedly to 20 ft (6 m) |
| Highest Leaping Batoid (height above water surface) | Manta Ray (Manta birostris) |
reputedly to 20 ft (6 m) |
| Most Elevated Body Temperature | Salmon Shark (Lamna ditropis) |
up to 20˚F (11˚C) above ambient |
| Showiest Leaping Shark | Spinner Shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna) |
spins on its axis, 2 to 4 times in mid-air |
| Sharpest Hearing Shark (determined via experiment) | Silky Shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) |
has homed in on low-frequency sounds from at least 1/4 mi (400 m) away |
| Sharpest Sighted Shark (in theory, at least) | White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) |
cone-to-rod ratio of 1:4 (about the same as in humans) |
| Sharpest Electrosensitivity (experiment) | Smooth Dogfish (Mustelus canis) |
0.008 nV/in2 (0.05 nV/cm2) |
| Most Powerfully Electrogenic Batoid | Atlantic Torpedo Ray (Torpedo nobiliana) |
220 V |
| Most Specialized Diet (stomach contents) | Crested Bullhead Shark (Heterodontus galeatus) |
feeds mostly on red sea urchins |
| Least Specialized Diet (stomach contents) | Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) |
feeds on almost anything it can swallow |
| Most Dangerous Shark (# of documented attacks) | White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) |
over 212 attacks unprovoked (50 fatalities) |
| Most Dangerous Shark (suspected of many more than documented) | Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) |
57 documented unprovoked attacks |
| Most Poisonous Flesh (causing illness) | Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus) |
must be boiled in several changes of water before eating |
| Tastiest Flesh (subjective) | juvenile White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) |
delicious! |
| Largest Litter (oviparous) | Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) |
about 300 eggs in one individual |
| Largest Litter (viviparous) | Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) |
135 pups in one individual |
| Smallest Litter | Sandtiger Shark (Carcharias taurus) |
two pups/litter, one per uterus (fetuses are cannibals) |
| Longest Gestation Period | Frilled Shark (Chlamydoselache anguineus) |
3.5 years |
| Shortest Gestation Period | Grey Bambooshark (Chiloscyllium griseum) |
70 to 80 days @ 77˚F (25˚C) |
| Longest Lifespan (experiment) | Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) |
70+ years |
| Most Star Appeal | Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) |
Would you really buy a book about dogfish? |
