# white shark

white shark , ( Carcharodon carcharias ), also called great white shark or white pointer , any member of the largest living species of the mackerel sharks (Lamnidae) and one of the most powerful and dangerous predatory sharks in the world. Starring as the villain of movies such as Jaws (1975), the white shark is much maligned and publicly feared. However, surprisingly little is understood of its life and behaviour.

## Distribution

    white shark ( Carcharodon
    carcharias )

    White shark ( Carcharodon
    carcharias )

White shark populations are frequently centred in highly productive temperate coastal waters (that is, waters characterized by an abundance of fishes and marine mammals), such as off the coasts of the northeastern and western United States, Chile, northern Japan, southern Australia, New Zealand, southern Africa, and the Mediterranean. Some individual white sharks may travel far out to sea or into tropical waters, but field studies show that most return to these temperate feeding areas each year.

## Body structure

White sharks are large bulky fishes with a body shaped like a blunt torpedo. They have a sharply pointed conical snout, large pectoral and dorsal fins, and a strong crescent-shaped tail. Only the belly of white sharks is whitish. They have a contrasting pattern of dark blue, gray, or brown on their back and sides. They are amazing hunters armed with strong muscles, good eyesight, and a keen sense of smell. In addition, their massive jaws are armed with

    white shark

large sharply pointed, coarsely serrated teeth. Each tooth is designed to cut flesh and can easily puncture and shatter bone. The largest fully grown white sharks do not exceed 6.4 metres (21 feet) in length. Most weigh between 680 and 1,800 kg (1,500 and 4,000 pounds), but some weighing more than 2,270 kg (about 5,000 pounds) have been documented.

Most fish are ectothermic, or cold-blooded, but white sharks have a complex circulatory system that conserves heat generated through the contraction of swimming muscles. This heat is distributed throughout the body to warm its critical regions, giving the white shark a body temperature higher than the temperature of the surrounding water. This adaptation, called regional endothermy (which is a type of warm- bloodedness), allows the animal to be active in water that may be too cold for other species of predatory sharks.

## Behaviour

## Feeding habits

    Newborn white sharks feed on
    fishes and other sharks. As they
    reach adulthood, their prey
    includes sea turtles, seals, sea
    lions, porpoises, dolphins, and
    small whales. Prey is usually
    hunted by ambush, where the

shark will attempt to rush the animal by surprise and inflict a sudden and massive fatal bite. Often this initial rush is so strong that the intense impact may send the prey out of the water or will send the shark into the air if it misses the target. The sharks will retire and wait for the prey to quickly die, giving rise to the terms bite and spit or bite and wait for this method of attack. White sharks are also opportunistic scavengers and will feed on the carcasses of whales and basking sharks; however, they are not indiscriminate.

## Attacks on humans

In the areas where they are most common, white sharks are responsible for numerous unprovoked, and sometimes fatal, attacks on swimmers, divers, surfers, kayakers, and even small boats. A white shark tends to inflict a single bite on its human victim and then retreat. In many instances, however, the shark does not return for a second bite. If the victim suffers a moderate bite, he or she may have time to seek safety. In situations where a large bite occurs, however, serious tissue and organ damage may result in death. A review of white shark attacks off the western United States showed that about 7 percent of attacks were fatal, but data from other localities, such as South Africa, show fatality rates of more than 20 percent. Fatality rates as high as 60 percent have been recorded from attacks in the waters off Australia.

Many researchers maintain that attacks on humans stem from the shark’s curiosity. In contrast, other authorities contend that these

attacks may be the result of the shark mistaking humans for its natural prey, such as seals and sea lions. It is also possible that white sharks intend to attack humans where their normal prey may be scarce.

## Social behaviour

Little is known about the social behaviour and natural history of the white shark. There appears to be no apparent social structure; however, there is evidence that some sharks may be territorial and assume dominance hierarchies around feeding areas. White sharks are largely solitary, but some pairs have been seen to travel together and associate for long periods of time. Some individuals may reside within feeding areas throughout the year, whereas other individuals may leave the feeding area and migrate widely. For example, some white sharks off California have been tracked to Hawaii, and some South African white sharks have been tracked to southern Australia and back.

## Reproduction

Mating has yet to be fully documented in white sharks, but it is assumed to be similar to internal fertilization in most sharks—that is, the male inserts his claspers into the cloaca of the female. Courtship behaviour, if there is any, is unknown. Male white sharks reach sexual maturity at 3.5 to 4 metres (about 11.5 to 13 feet) in length and about 10 years of age, whereas females reach sexual maturity at 4.5 to 5 metres (about 15 to 16 feet) in length and 12 to 18 years of age.

    marine food chain

Reproduction is viviparous (that is, fertilized eggs are retained within the body). Prior to birth, the young in the womb may feed on undeveloped eggs and possibly their unborn siblings. Litters consist of 2 to 10 pups; the newborns are more than 1 metre (about 3.3 feet) in length. Gestation is thought to take about 12 months, and females are assumed to give birth in warm temperate and subtropical waters, but specific nursery areas are unknown.

## Ecology

## Role in marine food chains

As top predators in marine food chains, white sharks have few natural enemies. While it is true that young white sharks are sometimes eaten by larger sharks (including other white sharks), they have fewer potential enemies as they grow. Adult white sharks fear few other animals; however, in at least one documented instance, an adult killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) attacked and killed an adult white shark. The most profound enemies of the white shark are human beings.

## Conservation

The white shark has been classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 1996.

Its wide distribution throughout many areas of the ocean has made comprehensive population surveys difficult; however, catch-rate data collected by fishery officials worldwide suggest that the species may be undergoing a decline, but the white shark has only been assessed in selected regions, such as the Mediterranean Sea, where it is considered critically endangered.

Humans hunt white sharks for a variety of reasons. They are a good food fish, and they are caught and sold commercially in many countries. Because of their impressive size and fabled ferocity, they are also highly prized sport fish, and their teeth are often treasured as jewelry. In addition, the jaws of large individuals can fetch thousands of dollars.

Sharks of all types are also victims of finning, the practice of harvesting the lateral and dorsal fins and the lower tail fin from a shark by commercial fishing operations and others worldwide. Although the United States and several other industrialized countries have enacted laws that prohibit many shark-finning practices, white sharks continue to be hunted for their fins. In addition, many white sharks are caught accidentally in commercial fishing nets each year. Some of these sharks die in the nets; however, survivors may be killed intentionally for their fins and other parts by commercial anglers.

White sharks are widespread. However, they are not common. They fill an important niche as a top predator and may help to keep populations of marine mammals in balance. Since they are positioned

    great white shark

at the top of the food chain, they are never abundant. As a result, the removal of a few individuals can have a profound effect on the population. Since they grow slowly and produce few young, it takes a long time for populations to rebound, and harvesting has depleted populations of these sharks in many areas. Consequently, white sharks are legally protected in several places (such as Australia, South Africa, and California) despite their bad reputation. The protection of white sharks may even have economic benefits. For example, in waters that contain white sharks, boaters and dive operators earn tens of thousands of dollars yearly by featuring popular “shark dives” where guests can see white sharks from the safety of steel cages suspended in the water. Such a change in image from wanton killer to majestic predator may assure the future survival of white sharks.

## Evolution

According to the fossil record, modern white sharks evolved sometime between 10 million and 4 million years ago, from the middle of the Miocene Epoch (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) through the first half of the Pliocene Epoch (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago), but their ancestors may date back to at least the Eocene Epoch (about 56 million to 34 million years ago). Early authorities

maintained that white sharks were descended from the extinct megalodon ( Carcharocles megalodon , formerly Carcharodon megalodon )—the largest shark in the fossil record and now considered to be a member of the megatooth shark family Otodontidae.

Newer paleontological interpretation is contentious, however, and two competing hypotheses have developed. In the first hypothesis, modern white sharks branched off from megatooth sharks to evolve alongside megalodon and other similar megatooth species. In contrast, the second hypothesis, based largely on 21st-century fossil finds and tooth analyses, suggests that modern white sharks descended from a line of ancient broad-toothed mako sharks—starting with Carcharodon hastalis. C. hastalis had teeth similar in size and shape to those of modern white sharks but without serrations. These first white sharks likely first appeared during the middle of the Miocene Epoch. (However, some studies suggest that they may have evolved during the Oligocene Epoch [33.9 million to 23 million years ago].) Descendent species do not appear to have branched off from C. hastalis. Instead, white sharks are thought to have gradually transitioned from C. hastalis to C. hubbelli (between 8 million and 6 million years ago) and then later to C. carcharias (that is, modern white sharks) in a single evolutionary lineage, or chronospecies. Fossil discoveries suggest that tooth serrations characteristic of modern white sharks appeared gradually in the chronospecies,

showing as small serrations in C. hubbelli before becoming fully developed in C. carcharias.

Douglas Long The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica