Introduction

The legendary great white shark is a cartilaginous fish that has caused fear and admiration for many years. It is considered one of the biggest predators of the oceans and the fiercest, but there is more imagination than truth in this sentence. His reputation as a “man-eater” is also far from reality.

The white shark is a member of the class Chondrichthyes, the subclass Elasmobranchii, the order Lamniformes, the family Lamnidae and the genus Carcharodon.

DESCRIPTION

The body of the white shark is robust and fusiform, about 4-7 meters in length but the average is 6 meters. Its weight is between 3,000 and 3,400 kilograms. Adult females reach dimensions greater than males, which are usually 2 meters smaller.

Their sense of smell is very sensitive, which facilitates the detection of prey at a great distance.

It has a narrow pointed snout, two pectoral fins and a first dorsal fin with a triangle shape. The caudal fin is crescent-shaped, and its upper and lower lobe are long and of very similar size, almost symmetrical. The mouth measures 0.9 to 1.2 meters wide; Is provided with several rows of sharp and serrated triangular teeth, that the shark changes several times throughout his life. It has small onyx eyes and nostrils towards the end of the snout.

It exhibits discoloration of the body, because while the back is gray or blue, the lower area is lighter. This characteristic gives an advantage when hunting because preys do not notice the figure of the shark, which is confused with the bottom of the ocean.

Their sense of smell is very sensitive, which facilitates the detection of prey at a great distance, and together with the Lorenzini ampoules which detect electric fields of moving animals make them efficient predators.

Facts on video

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT.

The distribution area of the great white shark is very extended; It ranges from the latitudes 60 ° north to 60 ° south and can be found in tropical coastal waters as well as temperate and even cold. In general, the temperature of the water that inhabits oscillates between 12 ° and 24 ° Celsius.

It is commonly found on the coasts of North America from Newfoundland to southern Mexico in the Atlantic Ocean and from Alaska to southern Mexico in the Pacific. Outside of the American continent, the great white shark dwells mainly the waters of South Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Japan, and Oceania. There is a substantial population in the Dyer Island in South Africa, and that is why there is a common place for research about their life.

Their habitats include coasts and continental and insular platforms whose waters do not surpass 1,875 meters of depth. In the open ocean, it inhabits to depths of up to 1,200 meters. It is an epipelagic shark that has been seen close to the shore on many occasions, but it is not an eminently coastal species.

Great White Shark – Carcharodon carcharias.

FEEDING

The diet of this shark species is, of course, carnivorous. However, it does not usually feed on large species, but on smaller animals such as squids, rays, and other fish. Adult individuals also include other sharks, seals, sea lions, dolphins and whale corpses. They sometimes catch turtles and seabirds to feed on them. They have a clear preference for fat-rich prey.

They have different hunting strategies depending on the target victim and the size of the species. The most usual approach is that, once they detect by electroreception their possible food, they locate below and then stealthily swim vertically. Once closer, they inflict a deadly bite and wait for the animal to bleed and die and then eat it. If the prey survives that, they try to hold it with their lower teeth while the upper tear the tissues. The most common forms to die of their preys are decapitation, mutilation, and bleeding.

BEHAVIOR

The great white shark is a fish mostly solitary although it can reunite with others of its same species. He has been seen a few times accompanied by a female or a male and even in small groups. In their groups, it is likely that there is hierarchical dominance, and the females are in the lead, but among all, large individuals dominate the small ones, and the residents of the group for a long time dominate the newcomers.

This shark is active both day and night. Interestingly, they jump out of the water sometimes to look the surrounding and look for prey. They are not aggressive with their own species, but if they feel threatened, they may bite his antagonist as a warning.

Most people expressly fear the great white shark and consider it a man-eater predator. Definitively, it is a powerful, aggressive and efficient predator, but it has no preference for humans. The attacks usually happen because of the shark confusion of a person with prey, and as a consequence, they give a “test bite,” but it is unlikely that it keeps eating once it finds that it is not its usual food.

REPRODUCTIVE HABITS

Males sexually mature about nine years old, but females mature between 14 and 16 years. This species is slow growing, late maturing and relatively long life.

Their reproduction is ovoviviparous. Bites on the flanks, backs and pectoral fins of females indicate that males exert “soft” aggression before and during mating. Males fertilize the eggs internally, inserting their claspers into the female oviduct so that eggs develop inside their body. Before birth, developed embryos presumably practice oophagy.

The gestation period lasts between 12 and 18 months, after which the female gives birth between 2 to 10 live offspring measuring more than 1 meter long. Female gives birth every 2 or 3 years.

THREATS AND CONSERVATION

The great white shark is at the top of the food chain, and except for killer whales, whales, and humans, it does not have predators. However, the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified it as a “Vulnerable” species, since overfishing and by-catch have led to a decrease in the number of individuals, as they have a low reproduction rate.

Some countries such as the United States, South Africa, Namibia, Malta and Australia protect the great white shark within their oceans, but it is still a feared and misunderstood fish. Therefore the conservation efforts do not have enough reach and impact.

Great White Shark Infographic!

(Click for expand)

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_shark

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/3855/0

World of Animals Magazine. Issue 1. Imagine publishing.

World of Animals, Book of Predators. Imagine publishing. 2014

http://www.arkive.org/great-white-shark/carcharodon-carcharias/

http://sharkopedia.discovery.com/types-of-sharks/great-white-shark/#top-10-greatest-great-white-videos

BioExpedition Publishing © 2017.

Great White Shark Attacks Inside Cage

Great White Shark In Dark Blue Waters

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The Great White Shark Near Guadalupe Island

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The great white shark was added to the endangered list because its population has dropped due to the unregulated trade and excessive hunting.

The great white shark is the top predator of the ocean, and adults have no threats in the seas. However, humans kill a large number of white sharks every year to get their teeth and jaws for trading, their meat for eating and their fins for remedies.

Links to other pages in this site

Why Sharks Attack Humans?
How Many Teeth Does A Great White Shark Have?
How Does A Shark Breathe?
Why Are People Afraid Of Sharks?
How Many Years Does A Shark Live For?

The scientific classification of the Great White Shark is “Carcharodon Carcharias.”

Carcharodon derived from ‘karcharos’ (Greek Word) which means sharp, and ‘odous’ means tooth.

The scientific classification of the great white shark:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Lamnidae
Genus: Carcharodon
Species: Carcharodon carcharias

Links to other pages in this site

How Many Teeth Do Sharks Have?
How Do Sharks Reproduce?
What Does Shark Mean?
How Many Layers Of Teeth Do Sharks Have?
How Do Sharks Find Their Food?

Great White Shark In Guadalupe Mexico

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Great White Shark In The Pacific Ocean

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There are many species of sharks found in the oceans around the world.

Some of them are very big while others are quite small. Some of them are to be feared while others mind their own business and they are very calm. You may be surprised to learn some of the largest species of sharks in the ocean are the nicest ones to encounter.

This information will help you identify some of the common species of sharks.

There are 440 different species of sharks in the world today classified into eight different orders described below with some examples of known sharks species for each group.

Some of the most popular species of sharks are:

Characteristics of some Types of Sharks

Angel Sharks

One of the most unusual types of sharks our there are know as angel sharks. Many people mistake them for some other types of sea creature. It isn’t uncommon for them to be thought of as large stingrays. But the simplest way to tell them apart is by looking at the location of the fins. On the angel shark, they won’t be on the head.

Leopard shark

This type of shark isn’t a meat eater. Instead it focuses on what it can find along the bottom of the ocean. Clams and mollusks often are a big part of their overall diet.

The coloring of angel sharks allow them to blend in well with the bottom of the ocean though so they often go undetected.

Hammerhead Sharks

Another unique type of shark is the Hammerhead Shark. It has a long head that looks like they ends of a hammer on both sides of it.

Many people are afraid of it due to the way that it looks. Yet it is very unlikely that they will attack a person. Nine hammerhead species are generally recognized but only three types can be dangerous to humans.

Hammerhead Sharks have a very developed sense of smell though and they will go on the hunt for prey in the ocean very aggressively. Read the complete Fact Sheet about the Hammerhead Shark…

Reef Sharks

Reef sharks seem to be able to adapt to life just about anywhere including captivity. They are loners and very seldom interact with other sharks unless it is time for breeding.

Reef Sharks can grow up to six feet long and they have very distinct features. They are gray in color on the top. Underneath they are all white or they have streaks of white. The tips of their fins are black.

Blue Sharks

All sharks swim very fast, but the blue shark is one of the fastest species.

Blue Sharks often look hungry due to the thin body they have. However, they are slender by nature and it has nothing to do with the amount of food they eat. Due to the roundness of most other types of sharks though they do seem quite on the thin side. They aren’t picky at all about what they will eat though so they never go hungry.

The blue shark is considered to be one of the most dangerous sharks in the waters. It has been known to attack people, which makes it one of species of shark that people most fear.

Blue sharks can grow up to 12 feet long so this is no small shark to be trying to get away from. Due to the speed and the strength of it very few of its prey have a chance of survival. Read the Blue Shark Fact Sheet

Great White Shark

Probably the best known species of shark is the great white. This is believed to be the most dangerous type of shark in the world. People have been able to see them as they are among the rare species that do raise their heads out of the water.

Great white sharks can grow up to 16 feet and weight around 1,500-2,400 pounds. Some have been known to weigh around 4,000 pounds but that isn’t the norm.

More people have been attacked by great white sharks than any other shark species. Locations where they are living have been identified and people are encouraged to stay away from them. Even so, swimmers, surfers, and divers have had numerous encounters with them. Read the Great White Shark Fact Sheet.

Grouping Sharks

While all sharks have similarities including they way their bodies are formed they also have many differences. Now that you are aware of some of the different types of sharks out there you can look into those that capture your attention in more detail. Sharks are very interesting and you will find there is an abundance of information out there to explore.

Physical Characteristics of Each Group