The great white shark is a shark and a type of cartilaginous fish belonging to a biological class known as Chondrichthyes. These fish are jawed vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, scales, a heart with its chambers in series, and a skeleton made of cartilage not bone. These sharks are also known as Lamniformes, which is an order of sharks commonly referred to as mackerel sharks. This species of shark has two dorsal fins, an anal fin, five gill slits and a mouth extended behind the eyes.