The evolution of sharks

Sharks are essentially living fossils, having glided through the Earth’s oceans for over 400 million years already. They have outlasted the dinosaurs and have survived mass extinction events to become one of the most successful and enduring groups of animals on the planet.

One of the most recent additions to the shark family tree is the genus Hemiscyllium, known as walking sharks. These sharks are still evolving in western New Guinea, providing a rare glimpse of 'evolution in action' as they use their fins to walk’ along the seabed. It would be the stuff of nightmares if they weren’t so small and harmless. For now, t... See more