How many different kinds of sharks are there?

There are more than 440 known species of shark, and these can be classified amongst 8 different orders. The most widely known sharks belong to the following orders:

Squaliformes: Includes dogfish.

Orectolobiformes (or carpet sharks): Include zebra shark and nursing shark.

Carcharhiniformes (or groundsharks): Include tiger shark, reef sharks and hammerhead shark.

Lamniformes (or mackerel sharks): Include thresher shark, mako shark and great white shark.