5 Sharks You've Never Heard Of Before

It's time we stop fearing sharks and start fearing a world without them. It's #SharkWeek and The Nature Conservancy loves sharks and shark habitats. Hundreds of different shark species roam our oceans and play different important roles in the ecosystem. Forty species of sharks swim in Hawaiian waters alone. We put together a list of 5 sharks you've never heard of before. The Nature Conservancy's Shark Facts

1. Carcharhinus limbatus

Tim Calver

A blacktip shark in the water at Palmyra Atoll. Located 1,000 miles south of Hawai'i, Palmyra Atoll is one of the most spectacular marine wilderness areas on Earth. The Nature Conservancy bought Palmyra in 2000. Today, Palmyra is a national marine monument and the Conservancy and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are partnering to protect it. Through the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium, it is also being developed as a center for scientific study.

2. Negaprion brevirostris

Jeff Yonover

Lemon sharks at the ocean's surface in the Bahamas. The Conservancy is helping the Bahamian government achieve long-term protection of their national parks through The Caribbean Challenge--an unprecedented commitment by Caribbean governments to support and manage new and existing national parks and protected areas throughout the region. The goal for the participating governments is to protect at least 20 percent of their marine and coastal habitats by 2020.

3. Ginglymostoma cirratum

Mark Godfrey

Nurse Sharks and other fish beneath the boat dock at Compass Cay, a private resort and marina in the vacinity of the Bahamas Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park. The Nature Conservancy works closely with partners such as the Bahamas National Trust and the government of the Bahamas to protect the marine habitat of the Exuma Cays and achieve the goal for the long term protection of national parks through the Caribbean Challenge.

4. Triaenodon obesus

Jeff Yonover

A pair of whitetip reef sharks in the waters of Cocos Island National Park in Costa Rica. Cocos Island was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.

5. Rhincodon typus

Carlos Aguilera Calderón

A pair of juvenile whale sharks measuring nearly 20 feet in length feed in the productive waters of the sand bar known as “El Mogote” in the waters off La Paz in Mexico’s Baja California Sur. The Nature Conservancy is working to protect wildlife and fisheries habitat and strengthen a network of marine protected areas in the Gulf of California.