Sharks vs. Fish — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Fiza Rafique — Published on February 8, 2024
Sharks are large, often predatory, cartilaginous fishes, distinct for their skeleton, while fish is a broad term for aquatic vertebrates, including sharks.
Difference Between Sharks and Fish
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Sharks and fish represent diverse and fascinating groups within the aquatic world. Sharks, known for their cartilaginous skeletons, differ significantly from most fish, which possess bony skeletons. This fundamental difference in skeletal structure is a key distinguishing feature between sharks and the broader category of fish.
Sharks, as apex predators in many marine ecosystems, play a critical role in maintaining the health of oceanic environments. Fish, in their myriad forms, contribute to the vast biodiversity of aquatic life, serving various roles from bottom feeders to top predators, including sharks themselves.
The reproductive strategies of sharks and fish also vary widely. Many sharks have a slower reproductive rate, with some species giving birth to live young, a trait less common among the broader fish population, which often lays eggs.
Sharks are often characterized by their unique features such as multiple gill slits and lack of swim bladders, which most bony fish possess to maintain buoyancy. This difference highlights the evolutionary adaptations that distinguish sharks from the vast array of fish species.
In terms of habitat, both sharks and fish inhabit a wide range of marine environments, from shallow reefs to the deep ocean. However, sharks, particularly large species, are often more mobile and can cover greater distances, reflecting their role as widespread predators and scavengers within the marine food web.
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Comparison Chart
Skeleton
Cartilaginous
Mostly bony
Gill Slits
5 to 7 pairs, visible
Typically covered by an operculum
Reproduction
Many give birth to live young (viviparous)
Mostly lay eggs (oviparous), some are live-bearers
Buoyancy
Lack a swim bladder, rely on liver oil and fin position
Most have a swim bladder for buoyancy
Role in Ecosystem
Predominantly predators
Range from bottom feeders to predators
Compare with Definitions
Sharks
Sharks have multiple gill slits on the sides of their head.
Observing a shark, one can see the distinct gill slits that are characteristic of their anatomy.
Fish
Most fish have a bony skeleton and a swim bladder for buoyancy.
Goldfish are common pets known for their bony structure and ability to float effortlessly in water.
Sharks
Sharks lack a swim bladder and use their liver oil for buoyancy.
Sharks maintain their buoyancy through the oil in their liver, rather than a swim bladder.
Fish
Fish lay eggs, with some species being live-bearers.
Salmon are known for their impressive egg-laying migrations upriver.
Sharks
Sharks are apex predators with a cartilaginous skeleton.
The great white shark is feared and respected as a powerful ocean predator.
Fish
Fish play various roles in aquatic ecosystems, from prey to predator.
In a coral reef, fish range from tiny cleaner wrasse to large predatory groupers.
Sharks
Many sharks give birth to live young.
The hammerhead shark is known for its unusual head shape and live-bearing reproduction.
Fish
Any of numerous cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates characteristically having fins, gills, and a streamlined body and including the bony fishes, such as catfishes and tunas, and the cartilaginous fishes, such as sharks and rays.
Sharks
Sharks play a crucial role in marine ecosystems.
Sharks help keep the ocean healthy by regulating the populations of other marine life.
Fish
Any of various jawless aquatic craniates, including the lampreys and hagfishes.
Sharks
Any of numerous cartilaginous fishes of the subclass Elasmobranchii that are chiefly carnivorous and marine. Sharks have a streamlined torpedolike body, five to seven gill openings on each side of the head, a large oil-filled liver, and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales.
Fish
The flesh of such animals used as food.
Sharks
(Informal)A person, such as a loan shark, who takes advantage of the misfortune of others for personal gain.
Fish
(Informal) A person, especially one considered deficient in something
A poor fish.
Sharks
(Informal)A person unusually skilled in a particular activity
A card shark.
Fish
To catch or try to catch fish.
Sharks
To obtain by deceitful or underhand means.
Fish
To look for something by feeling one's way; grope
Fished in both pockets for a coin.
Sharks
To take advantage of others for personal gain, especially by fraud and trickery.
Fish
To seek something in a sly or indirect way
Fish for compliments.
Sharks
Plural of shark
Fish
To catch or try to catch (fish).
Sharks
Infl of shark
Fish
To catch or try to catch fish in
Fish mountain streams.
Fish
To catch or pull as if fishing
Deftly fished the corn out of the boiling water.
Fish
(countable) A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills.
Salmon is a fish.
The fishmonger sells fishes from all over the world.
Ichthyologists study the fish of the world.
We have many fish in our aquarium.
Fish
Any animal (or any vertebrate) that lives exclusively in water.
Fish
(Newfoundland) Cod; codfish.
Fish
(uncountable) The flesh of the fish used as food.
The seafood pasta had lots of fish but not enough pasta.
Though Lena is a vegetarian, she doesn't have any problem with eating fish.
Fish
(uncountable) A card game in which the object is to obtain cards in pairs or sets of four (depending on the variation), by asking the other players for cards of a particular rank.
Fish
A woman.
Fish
An easy victim for swindling.
Fish
A bad poker player. Compare shark (a good poker player).
Fish
A makeshift overlapping longitudinal brace, originally shaped roughly like a fish, used to temporarily repair or extend a spar or mast of a ship.
Fish
(nautical) A purchase used to fish the anchor.
Fish
A torpedo self-propelled explosive device.
Fish
(zoology) A paraphyletic grouping of the following extant taxonomic groups:
Fish
Class Myxini, the hagfish (no vertebrae)
Fish
Class Petromyzontida, the lampreys (no jaw)
Fish
Within infraphylum Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates (also including Tetrapoda))
Fish
(cartomancy) The thirty-fourth Lenormand card.
Fish
(prison slang) A new (usually vulnerable) prisoner.
Fish
A male homosexual; a gay man.
Fish
A period of time spent fishing.
The fish at the lake didn't prove successful.
Fish
An instance of seeking something.
Merely two fishes for information told the whole story.
Fish
(obsolete) A counter, used in various games.
Fish
(intransitive) To hunt fish or other aquatic animals in a body of water.
We went fishing for crabs by the pier.
She went to the river to fish for trout.
Fish
(transitive) To search (a body of water) for something other than fish.
They fished the surrounding lakes for the dead body.
Fish
To use as bait when fishing.
Fish
(intransitive) To (attempt to) find or get hold of an object by searching among other objects.
Why are you fishing through my things?
He was fishing for the keys in his pocket.
Fish
To talk to people in an attempt to get them to say something, or seek to obtain something by artifice.
The detective visited the local pubs fishing around for more information.
The actors loitered at the door, fishing for compliments.
Fish
Of a batsman, to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump and miss it.
Fish
To repair (a spar or mast) by fastening a beam or other long object (often called a fish) over the damaged part (see Noun above).
Fish
To hoist the flukes of.
Fish
A counter, used in various games.
Fish
A name loosely applied in popular usage to many animals of diverse characteristics, living in the water.
Fish
An oviparous, vertebrate animal usually having fins and a covering scales or plates. It breathes by means of gills, and lives almost entirely in the water. See Pisces.
Fish
The twelfth sign of the zodiac; Pisces.
Fish
The flesh of fish, used as food.
Fish
A purchase used to fish the anchor.
Fish
To attempt to catch fish; to be employed in taking fish, by any means, as by angling or drawing a net.
Fish
To seek to obtain by artifice, or indirectly to seek to draw forth; as, to fish for compliments.
Any other fishing question.
Fish
To catch; to draw out or up; as, to fish up an anchor.
Fish
To search by raking or sweeping.
Fish
To try with a fishing rod; to catch fish in; as, to fish a stream.
Fish
Any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills;
The shark is a large fish
In the livingroom there was a tank of colorful fish
Fish
The flesh of fish used as food;
In Japan most fish is eaten raw
After the scare about foot-and-mouth disease a lot of people started eating fish instead of meat
They have a chef who specializes in fish
Fish
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Pisces
Fish
The twelfth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about February 19 to March 20
Fish
Seek indirectly;
Fish for compliments
Fish
Catch or try to catch fish or shellfish;
I like to go fishing on weekends
Fish
Fish are aquatic vertebrates with gills and usually fins.
The clownfish is famous for its vibrant colors and association with sea anemones.
Fish
Fish inhabit diverse environments from freshwaters to deep oceans.
The anglerfish, with its bioluminescent lure, inhabits the dark depths of the ocean.
Common Curiosities
How do sharks differ from fish?
Sharks have a cartilaginous skeleton, whereas most fish have a bony skeleton.
What defines fish?
Fish are aquatic vertebrates that breathe through gills and can inhabit marine or freshwater environments.
What are sharks?
Sharks are a group of cartilaginous fishes known for their predatory nature and distinctive skeletal structure.
Can fish live in both saltwater and freshwater?
Some fish species can live in both saltwater and freshwater, but most are adapted to one specific environment.
Do sharks lay eggs?
Some sharks lay eggs, but many species give birth to live young.
What is the role of sharks in the ecosystem?
Sharks help maintain the balance of marine ecosystems by controlling the population of other marine life.
What is the significance of gill slits in sharks?
Gill slits allow water to pass over the gills for respiration and are a key feature of sharks.
Are all sharks large predators?
While many sharks are large predators, there are also smaller, less aggressive species.
Do all fish have fins?
Almost all fish have fins, which are used for movement, stability, and steering.
Can sharks be found in freshwater?
Some shark species, like the bull shark, can venture into freshwater, but most are marine.
How do fish reproduce?
Most fish lay eggs, but some species are live-bearers.
Are sharks considered fish?
Yes, sharks are a specialized group within the broader category of fish.
How diverse are fish species?
Fish are incredibly diverse, with thousands of species ranging from tiny reef dwellers to large oceanic fish.
How do sharks maintain buoyancy?
Sharks use their liver oil and dynamic swimming to maintain buoyancy since they lack a swim bladder.
What adaptations do fish have for their environment?
Fish have various adaptations like swim bladders for buoyancy, streamlined bodies for efficient swimming, and specialized fins.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
