Details
Carcharodon carcharias
One of the largest predatory sharks, found in temperate and subtropical seas worldwide. Its torpedo-shaped body, roughly 300 serrated triangular teeth, and warm-blooded core let it hunt powerfully even in cold water.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It ranges through the temperate and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, using the coastal surface zone out to the open ocean. It can dive to about 1,300 m, while juveniles favour shallow coastal water of 14–24°C.
Adults reach about 4–6 m and 700 kg to 2 tonnes, with the largest reliably measured at over 6 m. Countershaded dark grey above and white below, with black-tipped pectoral fins, it carries serrated triangular teeth up to 7.5 cm long in conveyor-belt rows.
A highly migratory shark active by day and night, it ranges alone over vast distances; one individual travelled 20,000 km in under nine months. Regional endothermy keeps its body warmer than the surrounding sea, and it breaches clear of the surface.
This carnivore feeds chiefly on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions and dolphins, also taking fish, squid, seabirds and whale carcasses. It typically ambushes prey from below, striking at speed and breaching with the catch in its jaws.
It is ovoviviparous: embryos hatch inside the uterus and grow by eating unfertilised eggs (oophagy). After a gestation of about 12 months, females bear 2–10 pups measuring 1.2–1.5 m. Maturity is very late, with females breeding only after around 30 years.
Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, it is declining through accidental bycatch, shark-control nets and fishing. It does not regard humans as natural prey, and most bites are thought to be exploratory or cases of mistaken identity; lifespan may exceed 70 years.
