It's 50 years since the thriller, Jaws, was published - and going to the beach would never be quite the same again.

There are more than 30 species of sharks in Scottish waters – and, so far at least, no confirmed great whites.

That's despite conditions in Scottish waters seeming almost spot on for them: the right sea temperatures in summer and lots of harbour and grey seals to hunt down.

And even when locals in Fortrose in Morayshire recently received an alarm that a great white shark was prowling the coastline, it was a false alarm intended for Fortrose, in New Zealand.

But there are some sharks definitely out there. Here are some of them.

Porbeagle sharks are often found in Scottish waters. Strong, powerful and with razor-sharp teeth, they seek out mackerel and herring to eat.

Read more: Sharks are in Scotland's waters: but they're friends not foes

Their unusual system of regulating their body temperature by conserving heat generated by the muscles in special blood vessels, means they can cope with living and feeding in colder water.

Tope sharks are small, slim with elongated snouts and while most common on the southern and western coasts of the British Isles they also venture further north.

A migratory species – some tagged in the UK have been traced to Iceland and the Canary Isles – they grow up to 6ft long and can live for up to 50 years.

Their numbers are threatened by overfishing for their fins, flesh and oil.

The Herald: Shark

Blue sharks appear around the world in temperate and tropical waters. While more likely to be in the warmer south and west of Britain, they can also venture further north.

Lethal predators, they target mackerel, herring, squid and hunt larger fish like cod.

But they are ruthlessly hunted too; caught commercially in huge numbers around the world, their skin is used for leather and liver for oil. They’ve been classed as “near threatened” on the IUCN Red List, and a Priority Species in the UK.

Spiny dogfish/spurdog sharks live in shoals mostly around the west coast, where they seek out crabs, flatfish and codling. Sometimes they group together in a ‘pack’ to attack smaller fish like herring, sprats and pilchards.

Once one of the most common shark species in Britain, numbers have been decimated by demand for their flesh, livers for fish oil and fins for shark fin soup.

They are classed as ‘vulnerable’ on a global scale and ‘endangered’ within European waters.

Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the world and the largest in British waters.  Known to migrate over large distances in offshore and coastal waters, they have been recorded around the whole Scottish coast, often venturing surprisingly close to land. Sightings peak in summer at hot spots on the west coast.

Portuguese dogfish grow up to 4ft long and live in the deeper water of the continental slope west of the Outer Hebrides. The deepest living shark known, it’s dark brown to golden coloured, and has been found as far north as the Shetland Isles.

Shortfin mako can grow up to 14ft in length and weigh 1400 lbs, with a mouth full of rows of sharp teeth and one of the fastest sharks in the world.

Although more likely to be found in the warmer water off the south coast of England, like porbeagle sharks they can boost their temperature which, with climate change, means they may well venture further north.