Great white shark
Great White Shark | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom Information | |
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum Information | |
Phylum | Chordata |
Class Information | |
Class | Chondrichthyes |
Sub-class | Elasmobranchii |
Order Information | |
Order | Lamniformes |
Family Information | |
Family | Lamnidae |
Genus Information | |
Genus | Charcharodon |
Species Information | |
Species | C. carcharias |
Population statistics |
The great white shark or white shark (Carcharadon carcharias) is a large carnivorous fish considered to be dangerous to humans.
Entymology
The white shark's name is thought to have come from the pale appearence of exceptionally-large or old individuals; explorer and author Jacques Cousteau reported encountering "a lead white" shark about 25 feet long off the Azores in his book The Silent World.
The white shark is known variously as "white pointer" and "white death" (Australia), "blue pointer" (South Africa), "man-eater" (world-wide), and sometimes as "Jaws", ater the famous book and film.
Description
The white shark is the third-largest fish on record, exceeded in size by the plankton-feeding whale and basking sharks. A large-bodied, robust animal with an average length between 13-15 feet. Larger individuals have been caught from time to time, with 21 feet the largest length currently recorded. A length of 37 feet has been claimed for a shark trapped in a herring weir in New Brunswick, Canada in the 1930's.
The white shark has a coloration pattern shared by the orca and penguins in that it is generally a dark grey above, and a pale cream to white underside, thought by scientists to be a camoflage pattern. Its large cresent tail provides quick bursts of speed when needed.
Habits
Great white sharks are found worldwide in tropical and temperate waters. They can regulate their body temperature to some degree, so as to remain active in cold water. Feeding particularly on marine mammals such as fur seals and sea lions, great white sharks typically capture their prey by giving a single devastating bite, then retreating and circling until the victim has bled to death.
Attacks on humans
Most attacks on surfers and bathers are believed to cases of mistaken identity, and they are generally not finished off, their flavor comparing poorly with that of a blubbery pinniped. The book and film Jaws is based on the inaccurate theory of a "rogue shark," a theory that is widely considered to be inaccurate.[1]
Great white sharks have recently become rare due to human persecution, and are now protected in South Africa and Australia.