Crested Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus galeatus) is a very local species found only along the coast of eastern Australia. This small shark is usually less than 5 feet in length. Both the pale young and darker adult have dark blotches on their body. There are two dorsal fins with the forward dorsal fin slightly larger than the rear one. Both young and old are pictured in Kuiter.

Heterodontus genus, Bullhead sharks or horn sharks, contains nine species of sharks that are found in warmer waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. These sharks are found mainly in shallow waters. They have two larger dorsal fins and are generally small with a maximum length of about five feet. They feed on many things including shellfish.

Bullhead Sharks (Family Heterodontidae) are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and appear to be absent from the Atlantic Ocean. This is a ancient family of sharks. There are only about nine or ten species remaining. The two dorsal fins, each with a leading spike, helps identify these sharks. These sharks pick up shellfish from the bottom and crush them prior to eating them.

Heterodonitformes order (Bullhead sharks) now contains a single family. This is an ancient order with many known fossil species.

Sharks and rays (Elasmobranchi), cartilaginous fishes, deserve to be a class separate from the normal fish, in that they do not have a bone skeleton but rather a cartilage skeleton.

Fertilization is internal in this class which also separates them from the bony fish class. Although there are a few fresh water species, the majority of the species in this class are found in salt water. As of 2005, there were about 500 known species of sharks and about 600 known species of rays.

David Ebert, author of a recent book on sharks, rays, and chimaeras of California, counts a total of 988 described species in the class with about 150 additional species awaiting scientific description. He breaks down the described species to 410 species of sharks, 543 species of rays, and 35 species of chimaeras.

Many species of sharks face an uncertain future, as the Chinese purchase shark fins to make shark fin soup. It was estimated that 100 milllion sharks are killed each year for this purpose. However, recent estimates indicate the Chinese are reducing their consumption of this exotic soup.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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