The Pelagic Shark Research Foundation

The Internal Anatomy of a Shark

The internal anatomy of a shark differs from that of bony fishes. One major difference is that all sharks and rays (elasmobranchs) posess a cartilaginous skeleton as opposed to one composed of calcareous bone like that of goldfish, tunas, and most other bony fishes (hence the designation "bony fishes"!). Moreover, as you can see, the shark has a very large liver which is filled with copious amounts of oil. Sharks also have a unique structure known as the spiral valve in their intestines to aid in digestion.

Internal Anatomy of a Shark
photo taken from:
Cailliet, G. M.; Love, M. S.;
and
Ebeling, A. W. 1986.
FISHES - A Field and Laboratory Manual on Their Structure, Identification, and Natural History.

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