Great White Sharks

Written and created by:Madalyn Great White Sharks

The Great White Shark is also known as the Great White, White Death, White Shark, and White Pointer.Great Whites can be found in the coastal surface waters of all major oceans.Great Whites are mainly known for its size.A great white reaches maturity around the age of 15. Great White Shark Facts

Large individuals have been known to exceed 6.1 meters or 20 feet in length and 5,000 pounds or 2,268 kilograms in weight.Males reach maturity at 3.5 4.0 meters long and have a body mass of 680-1,100 kilograms or 1,500-2,400 pounds.Females are generally larger than males.Size

Their lifespan is over 30 years.Great Whites are the largest known extant macro predatory fish.White Pointers are primary predator of marine mammals.Great Whites feast on a variety of other marine mammals such as fish and seabirds.They are the only known surviving species of its genus Carcharodon.The greater concentrations are in the U.S, South Africa, Japan, Oceania, Chile, and the Mediterranean.

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Great Whites are ranked first in having the most attacks on humans.The White Pointer is listed as a vulnerable species.The animal kingdom is the Animalia kingdom.The phylum is the Chordata.The class is the Chondrichthyes.The subclass is the Elasmobranchii.

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The order is Lamniformes.The family is Lamnidae.The genus, as you know is carcharodon.The species is C. Carcharias.The temporal range is 16-0 Ma.When a Great White bites it shakes its head side to side, helping the teeth to saw off large chunks of flesh.The Great whites have rows of serrated teeth behind the main ones to be ready to replace the ones that break off.

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In 1758 Carolus Linnaeus, gave the first scientific name. The name is Squalus Carcharias.Later, Sir Andrew Smith gave the name Carcharodon as its generic name in 1833 and 1873.Carcharodon comes from the Greek words Karcharos, which means sharp or jagged and odous, which means toothGreat Whites came into existence during the mid-Miocene epoch.TheHistory Of Great Whites

The earliest known fossils of the Great White are about 16 MILLION years old.The phylogeny of the Great White is still in dispute.The original hypothesis for the Great Whites origins is that it shares a common ancestor with a prehistoric shark, such as the C. Megalodon.More Facts About the Great White

Great Whites live in almost all coastal and off-shore waters. The water must have temperatures between 54 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit or 12 and 24 degrees Celsius.In open spaces White Pointers have been recorded at depths as great as 4,000 feet.These findings challenge the traditional notion about the Great White being a coastal species.Theres Even MoreTo Know!

According to a recent study in California, Great Whites on the coasts of California migrate to an area between Baja, CA and HI known as the White Shark Caf to spend at least 100 days before migrating back to Baja, CA.On the way out to sea they swim slowly and dive down to around 3,000 feet or 900 meters for up to 10 minutes.Recent Studies

Great Whites have a robust, large conical snout.The upper and lower lobes on the tail fin are approximately the same size that is similar to some mackerel sharks.A Great White has a white underside and a grey dorsal area. It can sometimes be brown or blue shade.The coloration makes it hard for prey to spot the shark. The coloration breaks up the sharks outline when it is seen from the side.When it is seen from above the darker shade blends in with the ocean.When the shark is seen from below it exposes a minimal silhouette against the sunlight.Appearance

One of the densest known populations is found in around Dyer Island, South Africa. Almost all of the shark research is done there.A specimen more than 6.1 meters or 20 feet long could exert a bite force of over 18,000 newtons.The behavior and social structure is not well understood.

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Great Whites are also known to eat things that are unable to digest.White Pointers are one of only few sharks known to regularly lift its head above the water to gaze at other objects such as prey. This is known as spy-hopping.Great Whites are generally very curious animal. They display this intelligence and may also turn to socializing if the situation demands it.

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Great Whites are carnivorous. They prey on tuna, rays, other sharks, cetaceans, such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales; pinnipeds, such as seals; fur seals; and sea lions; sea turtles; sea otters; and seabirds.Orcas are a natural predator.Great Whites have an 11 month gestation period.Almost nothing is known about the Great Whites reproduction system.MoreFacts

"Great White Shark." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. My Sources