Great White Shark
Carcharodon carcharias
- Diet
- An opportunistic predator that eats fish, squid and other cephalopods, marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, and sometimes other sharks; it also scavenges whale carcasses.
- Size
- Up to 6.4 m
- Range
- Tropical to temperate and some colder ocean waters worldwide, both near coasts and in the open ocean.
- Habitat
- Uses coastal and offshore marine habitats, including nearshore archipelagos, reefs, banks, shoals, headlands, and open ocean.
- Lifespan
- Estimated 30–70+ years; maximum age remains uncertain.
- Activity
- Highly migratory. Usually solitary, but may gather in aggregations, especially at feeding sites; it must swim continuously to move water across its gills.
- Reproduction
- Pups hatch from eggs inside the female and are then born live. Juveniles generally occupy shallower water and feed on smaller prey.
- Conservation
- Vulnerable globally; critically endangered regionally in European and Mediterranean waters.
- Finding food
- About 300 triangular, serrated teeth sit in conveyor-belt-like rows. Teeth at the back move forward to replace those lost at the front.
- Camouflage
- Its dark upper surface and white underside create countershading camouflage, making the shark harder to see from above or below.
- Remarkable adaptations
- A system of blood vessels helps keep parts of its body warmer than the surrounding water. This regional warm-bloodedness allows the shark to remain active in cool seas.
- Seasonal journeys
- White sharks undertake ocean-spanning migrations in response to food and temperature. One tracked shark traveled from South Africa to Australia and back in under nine months, covering 20,000 km.
- Finding food
- When hunting seals, a white shark often attacks from below near the surface. In South Africa, some attacks send the shark breaching partly or completely out of the water.
Facts
- About 300 triangular, serrated teeth sit in conveyor-belt-like rows. Teeth at the back move forward to replace those lost at the front.
- Its dark upper surface and white underside create countershading camouflage, making the shark harder to see from above or below.
- A system of blood vessels helps keep parts of its body warmer than the surrounding water. This regional warm-bloodedness allows the shark to remain active in cool seas.
- White sharks undertake ocean-spanning migrations in response to food and temperature. One tracked shark traveled from South Africa to Australia and back in under nine months, covering 20,000 km.
- When hunting seals, a white shark often attacks from below near the surface. In South Africa, some attacks send the shark breaching partly or completely out of the water.
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