Is a shark a mammal?

Answer 1

no, sharks are found in the Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes). besides, they have gills...

Answer 2

Nope sharks are fish not mammals. The only thing some sharks have in common with mammals is that some do give live birth, and some species such as the great white shark are actually warm-blooded but that's it. But like other fishes sharks have gills and most species lay eggs and are cold-blooded. Like their relatives ,the rays and skates, they are made of cartilage, except their teeth. And no sharks have fur or nurse their young with milk.

Answer 3

No, a shark is not a mammal. A female mammal feeds thier young with milk from mammary glands (or specialized pores in the case of monotremes), hence the term "mammal". Sharks do not feed thier young milk... and they lack several other characteristics that define the class mammalia.

Excerpt from Wikipedia.... The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from mammary glands present on most species and specialized skin glands in monotremes that seep or ooze milk; the presence of hair or fur; specialized teeth; three minute bones within the ear; the presence of a neocortex region in the brain; and endothermic or "warm-blooded" bodies. The brain regulates endothermic and circulatory systems, including a four-chambered heart.

PS dont listen to all the rude people, everyone has to learn sometime and I am sure there was a time when none of us knew what a shark was much less if it was a mammal or not... There is nothing wrong with your question so dont feel bad about asking it.... everyone learns something new everyday and the more questions you ask, the more you learn.

Answer 4

No.But they are sub-warm-blooded.They keep their body at a constant 75 degrees.Warmer than some small mammals and they give birth but their babbies are pretty much on their own like a fish or reptile.But they also show signs of intellgents(like a mammal) by not always killing new things but test tatsing it to see if it'll provide a statisfying meal.

Answer 5

One thing that's different about the shark that other fish, and this is probably because the shark is a mammal, the shark will excrete it's bodily fluids through it's meat. If the skin is left on the meat too long, this urine based fluid is kept into the meat. Not good. You can believe what you'd like, but when I see a shark on the pier or beach too long without being skinned, I tend to wonder why this person is wasting good meat like that.

Answer 6

Sharks, unlike whales and dolphins, are not considered mammals but fish.

Answer 7

Whales porpoises and dolphins are mammals (warm bloodied air breathing etc) Sharks are cartilaginous fish. The gills ought to be the giveaway.

Answer 8

A shark is a fish, its skeletal system is made up of a cartilage-like material (or cartilage itself), it lays eggs which look like seaweed handbags (which it tethers to the sea bed). Did you know that a Great White never stops swimming between birth and death? The largest shark eats the smallest food (Whale Shark - Plankton).....best answer???

Answer 9

The shark is cold-blooded and breathes through gills, therefore it's a fish. Yes it does give birth to live young but only because they store the eggs inside of them, there is no umbilical cord.

Answer 10

A shark is a fish. However in the past certain types of whale were called sharks although they were not.

Answer 11

Dolphins, porpoises and whales are mammals. Sharks are fish.