Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)

Common Name: Great White Shark

Also Known As: White Pointer, White Shark, White Death

Scientific Name:Carcharodon carcharias

Description:A large conical shaped snout covers a mouth filled with serrated teeth which are arranged in rows to enable broken teeth to be quickly replaced. Typically 13-16 feet (4-4.6 meters) long and with a gray body and white underside, the great white has a distinctive dorsal fin and similarly sized upper and lower tail lobes.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Lamnidae
Genus: Carcharodon

Maximum Size: 792cm

Habitat & Range: Great White Sharks can be found in almost all coastal and open ocean environments with subtropical water. They can be found at depths from 0 to 1280 meters. Large concentrations of Great White Sharks are found in the south of Australia, South Africa, California, and Baja Mexico.

Diet: Great White Sharks are carnivorous and live on a primarily fish diet. Their main sources of food are large fish such as Tuna, Rays, and smaller sharks. They occasionally eat turtles, seals, and sea lions. Great Whites do not intentionally eat humans.

Lifespan: The Great White is believed to live between 30 and 80 years.

Predators: The Great White Shark's main predator is humans. There have been cases of Great Whites being attacked by Orcas due to competition for food and there have been cases of Great Whites being killed by pods of dolphins.

Red List Status: Vulnerable

Sources:
Great White Shark (2008, April 13) FishBase
Natural History of the White Shark (2008, April 13) PRBO Conservation Science
Envirofacts: Great White Shark (2008, April 13) Coast Care South Africa