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Great white shark
Carcharodon carcharias
The great white shark is probably the most famous
shark of them all. The fearsome look and the occasional attacks on
humans have made this shark the perfect star in both books and movies,
e.g. Steven Spielberg's Jaws. The rumors are of course exaggerated,
and as with most other sharks very little is known about the biology
of the great white shark.
(© K. Jost / jostimages.com)
The great white shark is also known as white shark
or white pointer, and is a member of the mackerel sharks, Lamnidae.
Like the rest of its relatives in this group it is a good swimmer.
It prefers cold shallow oceanic water near the coast and can be found
in all temperate oceans and in some tropical as well, often associated
with seal colonies. Compared to other shark species the great white
shark is rare.
Because of its size and ability to swim well the great white shark
is a formidable hunter with a broad spectra of prays. On the menu
we find fish, other sharks, turtles, marine mammals e.g. seals and
whales, carcass, garbage etc.
(© K. Jost / jostimages.com)
Females give birth to seven to nine live pups per litter, and the
unborn pups practice uterine cannibalism. It is thought to produce
only four to six litters in a lifetime. The young do not mature until
about 10 to 12 years old, so the species is extremely vulnerable to
overfishing.
The great white shark can be 6,5 meters long and weigh up to 3,2 ton.
 Further reading
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