Scientific Names

Great White Shark

Animalia, Chordata, Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes, Lamnidae, Carcharodon, carcharias.

Cheetah

Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae, Acinonyx, jubatus.

Hammer Head Shark

Animalia, Chordata, Chondrichthyes, Carcharhiniformes, Sphyrnidae, Sphyrna, mokkaran.

Spotted Hyena

Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Hyaenidae, Crocuta, crocuta.

Lion

Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae, Panthera, Leo. 

All of these animals are from the phylum Chordata, because they all have spinal chords. The lion and the cheetah both have the same phylum, class, order, and family, but the hyena only shares the same phylum, class, and order. I thought these three would share the same family, because they are all like big cats. The great white shark and the hammerhead shark are more different than I thought. I thought they would share everything except the genus and species, but they are only similar in kingdom, phylum, and class.

My Question: What makes these two sharks so much more different than I thought they would be?