Shark family diversity

Diversity in sharks, based on the distribution of all 30 families plotted as a density surface. Most sharks are coastal in occurrence and for illustration purposes the family density is shown within a band extending out 400 km from the coastline (slightly further than the 200 nm EEZ limit).
Source: prepared by UNEP-WCMC, with support from DEFRA, family distributions aggregated from the species range maps published by Compagno.
Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Vol. 4 (Parts 1-2).