Gioca STEMAnimals

Animals · Seas and oceans

Great white shark

Carcharodon carcharias

The largest living predatory fish

A Great white shark surfaces with open jaws: triangular serrated upper teeth cut, while pointed lower teeth hold.
A Great white shark surfaces with open jaws: triangular serrated upper teeth cut, while pointed lower teeth hold.
  • Status: Threatened
  • Temperate and cold waters of all oceans, including coastlines

Numbers

Weight
1430 lbmidpoint of the average range in the source material, between 1,150 and 1,700 pounds; mature females reach 2,450 pounds. Wikidata reports 2,400 pounds, plausible only for a large female
Length
15 ftadult females from 15 to 16 feet, males from 11 to 13 feet; the largest reliably measured specimen reached 19.5 feet
Lifespan
70 yearsestimate from a 2014 study suggesting 70 years or more; Wikidata lists 73 years
Depth
4000 ftusually stays between the surface and 800 feet
Attack speed
25 mphin the final charge toward surface prey; cruising speed reaches 15 mph
Sensed electric field
0,5 billionths of a voltthanks to the ampullae of Lorenzini located on the snout

Ten fun facts

  1. its gill slits only work while it swims, so if it stops moving, water cannot pass over its gills.

  2. it lacks the protective eye membrane of other sharks, so during a bite it rolls its eyes backward until they disappear.

  3. its skin has dermal denticles of dentin and enamel instead of scales, measuring up to less than half an inch tall.

  4. teeth in its upper jaw are triangular and serrated for cutting, while lower teeth are long and pointed for holding prey.

  5. it lacks a swim bladder, which allows it to rocket up from the seabed at high speed during an attack.

  6. a network of blood vessels traps muscle heat, keeping its body significantly warmer than the surrounding cold water.

  7. it lifts its head out of the water to smell the air, because scents travel much faster above the surface.

  8. between 1876 and 2010, only 244 unprovoked attacks were recorded worldwide, and 65 of them were fatal.

  9. a 2010 genetic study suggests that Mediterranean Great white sharks arrived from Australia about 450,000 years ago.

  10. among Great white sharks, females, larger individuals, and permanent residents are the ones that hold dominant social rank.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

What are the ampullae of Lorenzini used for?

Question 2 of 5

Is the bite of the Great white shark the strongest in the animal kingdom?

Question 3 of 5

Who preys on adult Great white sharks?

Question 4 of 5

Why must the Great white shark keep swimming?

Question 5 of 5

How long is a newborn Great white shark?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Measure three inches on a ruler to see the maximum length of a Great white shark tooth. Compare that measurement to the width of your own hand.

Experiment 2

Mark twenty feet on the ground using a tape measure. That is the length of the largest verified female Great white shark ever measured by scientists.

Experiment 3

Try to identify two hidden objects by only touching the water in a basin. You will realize how powerful the lateral line system really is.

Data from Wikidata (Q129026) and Wikipedia (Great white shark).