ghost sharks) like other types of marine life these numbers will change as scientists continue to discover or recognise new species of sharks and rays from our waters. About 110 species of chondrichthyans are found in New Zealand waters, of which 73 are sharks, 25 are rays and 12 are chimaeras (a.k.a.Sharks and rays belong to the class of fish called Chondrichthyes – fish with skeletons of cartilage, not bone.Blue sharks will occasionally enter large harbours and the surf zone at this time. While mako and blue sharks are normally found well offshore in oceanic waters they are sometimes seen close to shore during summer. These include the broadnose sevengill shark, common thresher shark, mako, great white shark, bronze whaler, blue shark and smooth hammerhead. This zone is characterised by many species of often bizarre looking dogfishes and skates.Įncounters with large sharks, those reaching more than 1.5 m total length, in coastal waters usually happen over spring and summer when many species move inshore to give birth and feed. The greatest diversity of New Zealand’s sharks and rays occurs on the upper continental slope between 200 m and 1800 m depth. Many of the larger species are wide-ranging, open-ocean species such as the mako, whale shark, pelagic stingray, spinetailed devil ray and manta ray. ![]() The most familiar of these are the school shark, rig, spiny dogfish, shorttail stingray and eagle ray. Many species of sharks and rays live in shallow coastal waters at least for part of the year.
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