SharkoFiles: Great White Shark

The great white shark is perhaps the best known and most chronicled shark in the ocean. Also known as White Shark, White Pointer or White Death, they are called the Great White because of their snow white underbellies. Due to their perceived notoriety and worldwide fame as the shark being responsible for the greatest number of human deaths around the globe, they are one of the most popular species of shark across the world. However, as scientific research on these legendary predators increases, so is the realization that the fearsome terrible image that has been tagged with the sharks for ages has begun to subside in the wake of new evidences about the shark species.

New research evidence suggests that the Great Whites are natural curious predators who will take sample bite out of curiosity instead of mindless attack or preying on humans. Although, this does not mean the Great White Sharks are docile like, say the bonnethead shark, but it equally means that humans are not really on the list of the Great White Shark’s diet. In fact, as oppose popular assumption, there have been fewer attack of Great White Sharks on humans with only about 31 confirmed attacks in the last two centuries. This shows that attack by Great Whites is very rare.

As size goes, the Great White Shark is the largest predatory fish in the world. So huge is the size of this shark species that it is relative to the size of a bus. They can grow to an average length of 15 feet with some species exceeding 20 feet. These sharks can be found all over the oceans in the world, preferably in cool waters close to the coast. The Great Whites are super swimmers and can bust through the ocean with a speed of over 60km per hour. They are not only huge, and deadly, but also cunning and often catch their prey by surprise. As far as the ocean food chain goes, the Great Whites are apex predator that firmly sits at the top of the food chain. With the exception of bigger marine predators such as the killer whales, the greatest threat to the Great Whites are human interaction where they are often caught as a prize trophy or by illegal hunting. Nowadays, according to the IUCN Red List, these powerful predators are enlisted as vulnerable species.

Taxonomy

Although the common name “Great White Shark” is the most popular identity of these shark species, however, their scientific name is Carcharodon carcharias. They are members of the largest existing species of the mackerel sharks.

Morphology

The Great Whites are large, bulky fishes having a body that is structured like a blunt torpedo. Their snout is sharply pointed and conical in shape. The Great White’s dorsal side is colored contrasting pattern of dark blue, gray or brown, while the ventral side is whitish in appearance. They are very powerful predators that possess strong muscles, as well as a good vision and acute sense of smell. They have powerful jaws layered with large, sharply pointed, coarsely serrated teeth. The majority of the adult Great White sharks weigh between 1,500 and 4000 pounds.

Adaptation

This shark species have a powerful acute sense of smell and they can smell a single drop of blood in 100L of water. Moreover, the Great White Sharks can detect blood in a faraway distance (about 5 km) in the water. This remarkable ability aid the Great White Shark to locate and ravish their prey. Besides the sense of smell, they also have ability to detect electromagnetic fields generated by other animals which make them to sense movement quickly in the water.

Feeding

The Great White Sharks dislike competing for food. As carnivores, it feeds on flesh, however, if conditions are right, the Great White Shark often feed on smaller prey such as rays and squids. They have a clear preference for prey that is rich in fat content. Their hunting strategy is to launch a deadly attack/bite on an unsuspecting prey and wait till it bleeds to death and subsequently feed on it. If this tactic fails to work, then they hold the prey with their lower teeth and use their upper teeth to tear the tissues. Basically, preys of the Great White Sharks die of decapitation, mutilation, and bleeding. Their major preys include sea lion, sea turtle, carrion etc. The Great Whites are also opportunistic scavengers, feeding on dead whales and other dead marine mammals.

Habitat

The Great White Shark has a wide range of distribution. They are found in both tropical and temperate coastal water. Outside the American continents where they are abundant, they dwell majorly in waters of South Africa. In the open ocean, they are found at a depth of about 3937 feet

Reproduction

Comprehensive documentation of mating is yet to be conducted on this shark species, however similar to most sharks, internal fertilization is believed to take place in the Great Whites. The males attain sexual maturity at a body length of 11.5 to 13 feet, while the females become sexually mature when they reach about 15 to 16 feet in length. Reproduction mode is viviparous. Litter is made up of 2 to 10 pups. The size of the newborn is about 3.3 feet in length. It is assumed that gestation period in the Great Whites takes up to 12 months. The females are believed to reproduce in warm temperate and subtropical waters.

Life span

Majority of Great White Sharks tend to live up to 30 years, however the growth, development, social behavior, as well as how offspring is raised in Great White Sharks remain unknown.

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