Taxonomy refers to the official classifications of plants or animals according to accepted scientific standards and norms. As a group, sharks belong to the superorder called Selachimorpha. They are in the Chondrichthyes class (along with Chimaeras) under the subclass Elasmobranchii.This subclass is also where rays and skates fall and some sharks are thought to be very closely related to certain ray species (even more so than to other sharks, in fact). Selachimorpha is split into Galea and Squalea.The Galea group comprises:his subclass is also where rays and skates fall and some sharks are thought to be very closely related to certain ray species (even more so than to other sharks, in fact). Selachimorpha is split into Galea and Squalea. The Galea group comprises: