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When it comes to animal stereotypes, you can't find a more controversial character than the great white shark. Several powerful myths have taken root in the human mind. We attribute bloodthirstiness and vindictiveness to the predator, so many travelers prefer not to go to the open sea. We consider her a cannibal, but in fact there are much more dangerous inhabitants in the ocean. The reality is that this predator is not even white.

How did the shark get its name?

The great white shark is accustomed to a wide variety of food. And if in her youth she dines mainly with fish, then in adulthood she hunts penguins, turtles, squids and even whales. Aboriginal people from different countries came up with their own nicknames for the formidable predator. During the hunt, when the fishermen drag the immobilized carcass of an animal onto the deck of the ship, they throw the prey on their back and see a perfectly white belly in front of them. Probably, this circumstance gave rise to the official name of the species. In fact, the upper part of the predator's body is dark, almost black. It might as well have been called the great black shark.

Disguise

Nature gave the great white shark a dark colored body to help it hunt. When an animal emerges from the murky waters of the deep sea, unsuspecting victims cannot instantly orient themselves in the situation and do not have time to hide in a secluded place.

Gastronomic preferences of sharks change with age

If you make a list of everything that has ever been found in the stomach of a formidable predator, it will take up a lot of space on paper. Only one thing is clear to oceanologists: the tastes of an animal change with age, as individuals age. While the size of the shark does not exceed two and a half meters, the individual's diet is exclusively fish. When an animal grows in size and reaches sexual maturity, it begins to feed on mammals. Older sharks prefer seals, sea lions and walruses. When they attack from below, at speed, the victim has no chance of salvation.

The possibilities of the sense organs

The great white shark is endowed with a range of senses that complement each other. Before us is a skillful, dexterous and insidious hunter. Maybe that's why people attribute to this predator all the existing earthly sins. The most subtle instrument deserving our attention is the shark's ear.

In 1963, scientists conducted a study off the coast of Miami. A speaker was installed on the edge of the boat, which attracted the predator with sound. The tape recorded low-frequency pulses, similar to those emitted by fish in distress. Very soon, scientists discovered a whole flock of sharks near them. Despite the fact that sharks of other species “participated” in that experiment, there is no doubt that the great white shark has fine hearing.

Also predators are endowed with a good sense of smell. In order to smell the blood, the shark does not need to get too close to its prey. A bleeding victim at a distance of 400 meters can only be saved thanks to his excellent dexterity. Here is a curious fact: scientists have found that the olfactory bulb of the great white shark is larger than the part of the brain responsible for the sense of smell in all its fellow species. If we talk about the vision of a predator, then it cannot be considered ideal. She is especially good at distinguishing contrasts.

Additional Benefits

In addition to the sense organs that are well known to man, the great white shark is endowed with additional advantages. Lateral lines, which are clearly visible along the body of the animal, have the ability to record changes in water pressure. Thus, the shark is always aware of the movements of its prey. Well, after she gets close to the target, electromagnetic fields come to the rescue. According to scientists, all of these tools together make the great white shark an ideal predator.

Suppressing Fear Enables Salvation

Brave travelers, explorers of the deep sea know that when meeting with a formidable predator, you must be able to suppress your fear. According to statistics, in 2013, 76 unprovoked shark attacks on people were recorded in the world, 10 of which were fatal. And only one of these deaths was associated with a great white shark. If we consider the statistics for a decade, then on average a predator attacks people twice a year.

A five-meter female can have up to ten embryos in the womb. Sharks do not spawn or lay eggs, they give birth to live young. And in this they are like people.

The great white shark can live in both very warm and very cold waters. This is made possible by the fact that the arteries and veins run in parallel in several parts of her body. Therefore, the heat that the muscles of the predator produce is stored in the body, and not lost in the ocean.

The great white shark, the heroine of P. Benchley's novel "Jaws" and the film of the same name, has a bad reputation as a cannibal. Yes, this is the world's largest predatory fish and an excellent hunter. But is she as bloodthirsty towards people as we are shown in various films?

In Australia, it is called the "white death", but you can encounter it not only here, but in almost all coastal waters of the main oceans, except for the Arctic. She has chosen both cold temperate and warm tropical waters.

Small colonies of white sharks are periodically found off the southern coast of Australia, off the coast of California and South Africa, in the Red Sea, in the central part of the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, off the coast of New Zealand, in the Caribbean Sea, near Madagascar, Kenya, the Seychelles and the coast of Mauritius . These, of course, are not all the places where you can accidentally run into this formidable mistress of the seas and oceans.

Habitat of the great white shark

But still, ichthyologists managed to find a couple of favorite places for white sharks. The first is near Hawaii, where they meet in the hundreds. Scientists have nicknamed this place the White Shark Cafe. It is a great place to observe and study the life of these animals. And the second is the coastal waters of Dyer Island (South Africa).

Periodically, great white sharks arrange migrations. There are 2 main routes: the first runs from Baja California (Mexico) to the White Shark Cafe (White Shark Cafe) and back, and the second runs from the coast of South Africa to the southern coast of Australia. What caused such annual migrations, none of the scientists can say for sure.

The shark spends most of its time in the upper water column. But sometimes it can dive to a depth of 1000 meters.

The great white shark has a number of characteristic features that distinguish it from other species. First, is its size. The average length of an adult is 2.5-3.5 meters, there are also larger specimens - up to 5-6 meters. Some argue that this is not the limit and white sharks can grow up to 7 meters, but there were no reliable facts about this. The largest specimen caught so far is considered to be a shark 6.4 meters long, caught in 1945 in Cuban waters. A 5-6 meter shark can weigh from 700 kg to 2.5 tons.

Secondly, protective coloring. The back and head of the shark are painted dark gray. This allows her to remain unnoticed by prey floating above, as her dark shadow dissolves into the dark blue water column. The lower part of the oblong body is light. I look at the shark from below, you understand that the light belly allows it to “get lost” at the surface of the water against the background of a bright sky.

Gray back and white belly

Thirdly, the shape of the body. The white shark has a large, conical head. Large pectoral fins help keep the powerful body afloat.

And fourthly, her powerful jaws with huge teeth, which are the perfect murder weapon. The pressure force with which the shark compresses its jaws is almost several tons per 1 cm 2. This allows the predator to easily bite large animals in half or bite off any part of the human body.

shark smile

Like many sharks, its teeth are arranged in 3 rows. Each tooth is equipped with serrations that act as a kind of saw when tearing pieces of meat from the body of the prey. If the front teeth are lost, they are quickly replaced by the back teeth.

Great white shark tooth with jagged edges

Even white sharks became famous for their keen senses and complete promiscuity in food. Special sense organs on the nose (“ampoules of Lorenzia”) allow them to capture and recognize the slightest electrical impulses and smells over long distances, and this primarily concerns the smell of blood. They can smell 1 drop of blood in 100 liters of water. Therefore, during the hunt, sharks rely solely on their instincts. But their eyesight is poor.

In principle, white sharks attack humans only on very rare occasions. The main reason for this is the lack of food. These are fish, tuna, seals, squids, sea lions, other sharks and dolphins. Hungry sharks become very aggressive and are ready to pounce on any object they see or feel, be it a person or various waste. While searching for prey, they can get very close to the shore.

Their favorite "food" is fat sea lions, seals or big fish. Fatty foods provide them with energy and help maintain a high body temperature. You can't call these sharks gluttonous either. Due to the special structure of the stomach (they have a "spare" stomach), they do not eat every day.

White shark attack tactics are varied. It all depends on what the shark has in mind. These formidable predators are very curious animals. The only way for her to study her object of curiosity is to try it “by the tooth”. Scientists call these bites "exploratory bites." It is they who are most often received by surfers or divers floating on the surface, whom the shark, due to its poor eyesight, mistakes for seals or sea lions. After making sure that this "bony prey" is not a seal, the shark can fall behind the person if it is not too hungry, of course.

The great white shark attacks by making a lightning dash from below. At this moment, she tries to inflict a powerful bite on the victim, which gives little chance of survival. Then the hunter swims a short distance so that the victim in attacks of protection cannot injure her face, bleeds a little and weakens.

Female white sharks give birth to two cubs. In this species, as in some others, such a phenomenon as cainism is common, when stronger and more developed cubs eat their less developed “brothers and sisters”. In sharks, this happens even inside the female, when 2 more developed cubs begin to eat all the other sharks and unfertilized eggs.

Curiosity is not a vice

According to official statistics, from 80 to 110 people are attacked by sharks every year (the total number of recorded attacks of all types of sharks is considered), of which from 1 to 17 are fatal. If we compare, people destroy about 100 million sharks every year. And which of them should be called a dangerous predator?

The great white shark is known to many as the man-eating shark, or carcharodon. This animal belongs to the class of cartilaginous fish and the herring shark family. Today, the population of this species slightly exceeds three thousand individuals, so the great white shark belongs to the category of predatory animals that are on the verge of extinction.

Description and characteristics of the white shark

The length of the largest of all modern predatory sharks is eleven meters or a little more. The most common are individuals with a body length of not more than six meters, and a mass in the range of 650-3000 kg. The back and sides of the white shark have a characteristic gray coloration with slight brownish or black tones. The surface of the ventral part is off-white.

It is interesting! It is known that white sharks existed relatively recently, the body length of which could reach thirty meters. In the mouth of such an individual, living at the end of the Tertiary period, eight adults could freely settle down.

Modern white sharks lead a predominantly solitary lifestyle. Adults can be found not only in the waters of the open ocean, but also along the coastline. As a rule, the shark tries to stay close to the surface, and prefers warm or moderately warm ocean waters. Prey is destroyed by the white shark with the help of very large and wide, triangular teeth. All teeth have jagged edges. Very powerful jaws allow an aquatic predator to bite through not only cartilaginous tissues, but also rather large bones of its prey without much effort. Hungry white sharks are not particularly picky about their food choices.

Features of the morphology of the white shark:

• a large cone-shaped head has a pair of eyes, a pair of nostrils and a fairly large mouth;
• small grooves are located around the nostrils, which increase the speed of water inflow and improve the predator's sense of smell;
• pressure indicators of large jaws reach eighteen thousand newtons;
• teeth arranged in five rows change regularly, but their total number varies within three hundred;
• five gill slits are located behind the predator's head;
• two large pectoral fins and a fleshy anterior dorsal fin. They are supplemented by relatively small second dorsal, ventral and anal fins;
• the fin located in the tail section is large;
• the circulatory system of a predator is well developed and is able to quickly heat up muscle tissues, increasing the speed of movement and improving the mobility of a large body.

It is interesting! The great white shark does not have a swim bladder, therefore it has negative buoyancy, and to prevent sinking to the bottom, the fish must constantly make swimming movements.

A feature of the species is the unusual structure of the eyes, which allows the predator to see prey even in the dark. A special organ of the shark is the lateral line, thanks to which the slightest disturbance of the water is captured even at a distance of one hundred meters or more.

Habitat and distribution in nature

The white shark is found in many coastal waters of the oceans.. This predator is found almost everywhere, except for the Arctic Ocean and beyond the southern coast of Australia and South Africa.

The largest number of individuals hunt in the coastal zone of California, as well as in close proximity to the island of Guadeloupe in Mexico. Also, a small population of the great white shark lives near Italy and Croatia, and off the New Zealand coastline. Here, small flocks are classified as protected species.

A significant number of white sharks have chosen the waters near Dyer Island, which has allowed scientists to successfully conduct numerous scientific studies. Also, fairly large populations of great white sharks were found near the following areas:

• Mauritius;
• Madagascar;
• Kenya;
• Seychelles;
• Australia;
• New Zealand.

In general, the predator is relatively unpretentious in its habitat, so migration is focused on areas with the largest number of prey and optimal conditions for reproduction. Epipelagic fish are able to choose coastal marine areas with a large number of fur seals, sea lions, whales and other species of small sharks or large bony fish. Only very large killer whales are capable of resisting this "mistress" of the ocean space.

Lifestyle and behavioral features

The nature of the behavior and social structure of white sharks has not been sufficiently studied at present. It is known for certain that the population living in the waters close to South Africa is characterized by hierarchical dominance in accordance with sex, size and residence of individuals. The dominance of females over males prevails, and the largest individuals over smaller sharks. Conflict situations in the process of hunting are resolved by rituals or demonstrative behavior. Fights between individuals of the same population are certainly possible, but are quite rare. As a rule, sharks of this species in conflicts are limited to not too strong, warning bites.

A distinctive feature of the white shark is the ability to periodically raise its head above the water surface in the process of hunting and searching for prey. According to scientists, in this way the shark manages to capture smells well even at a considerable distance.

It is interesting! Predators enter the waters of the coastal zone, as a rule, in stable or long-established groups, including from two to six individuals, which is similar to a wolf pack. Each such group has a so-called alpha leader, and the rest of the individuals within the "pack" have a clearly defined status in accordance with the hierarchy.

Great white sharks are distinguished by fairly well-developed mental abilities and ingenuity, which allows them to find food in almost any, even the most difficult conditions.

Feeding an aquatic predator

Young carcharadons, as the main diet, use medium-sized bony fish, small-sized marine animals and medium-sized mammals. Sufficiently grown and fully formed great white sharks expand their diet at the expense of larger prey, which can be seals, sea lions, and also large fish. Adult carcharadons will not refuse such prey as smaller species of sharks, cephalopods and other most nutritious marine life.

For successful hunting, great white sharks use a peculiar body color. a. The light coloring makes the shark almost invisible among underwater rocky places, which makes it very easy for it to track down its prey. Especially interesting is the moment of the attack of the great white shark. Due to the high body temperature, the predator is able to develop quite a decent speed, and good strategic abilities allow carcharadons to use win-win tactics when hunting aquatic inhabitants.

Important! With a massive body, very powerful jaws and sharp teeth, the great white shark has almost no competitors among aquatic predators and is capable of hunting almost any prey.

The main food addictions of the great white shark are represented by seals and other marine animals, including dolphins and small species of whales. Eating a significant amount of fatty foods allows this predator to maintain an optimal energy balance. The heating of muscle mass by the circulatory system requires a diet represented by high-calorie foods.

Of particular interest is the carcharodon seal hunting. Gliding horizontally in the water column, the white shark pretends not to notice the animal floating on the surface, but as soon as the seal loses its vigilance, the shark attacks the prey, jumping out of the water abruptly and almost with lightning speed. When hunting for, the great white shark ambushes and attacks from behind, which does not allow the dolphin to use its unique ability - echolocation.

Bloodthirsty and huge monsters of the ocean - this is the image of a shark, replicated by cinema and literature. How much does a shark weigh and are these representatives of the ocean fauna so dangerous?

Sharks - inhabitants of the deep sea

The name is a collective image. An ordinary person immediately imagines a fish from horror films. But sharks are a superorder of cartilaginous fish, which includes about 450 species. The features of these animals are a torpedo-shaped body, a large heterocercal fin on the back, and many teeth on both jaws. Among sharks, there are both exceptional predators and peaceful eaters of plankton. The sizes of sharks are different, body length varies from 17 centimeters to 20 meters. How much does a shark weigh? It depends on its size. Representatives of this superorder live mainly in the salt waters of the seas and oceans, but there are also those who live in fresh waters. We will get acquainted with exceptionally large species and find out how much the largest shark weighs.

1st place: whale shark

That's why she's called that because she's the biggest among her friends. Representatives of the species live in the northern and southern seas. And it is the northern ones that are much larger. Whale sharks reach a body length of up to 20 meters and weigh up to 20 tons. Caught in 1949 near Baba Island, the individual was 12.5 meters long and weighed 20 tons. It is a grey-brown giant with white spots that have a unique arrangement for each individual. These sharks live for about 70 years, and what is most surprising is that they are filter feeders. This means that they feed by filtering water and filtering out plankton. During the day, such a fish pumps 350 tons of water and eats 200 kilograms of plankton. Up to 5 people can fit in the mouth of a whale shark, the jaws are covered with 15 thousand small teeth. However, she herself never attacks people, and many scuba divers even manage to touch her. Whale sharks are slow and little studied. Their number is quite small, so the species is listed in the Red Book.

2nd Place: Elephant Shark

The championship in size with the whale shark is shared by the elephant shark. This fish is up to 15 meters long and weighs up to 6 tons. A species that is on the verge of extinction. The shark really looks like an elephant with sunken cheeks because of its widely spaced mouth up to 3 meters in diameter and with many small teeth. The huge size (another name for this shark is giant) makes the fish inactive. They are also filter feeders, but unlike cetaceans, they live in flocks. Approaching such a flock is dangerous: a wave of the tail will easily kill the scuba diver.

3rd place: white shark

The next in our ranking is the shark, the representative of the most dangerous animals on the planet - the white shark. This is exactly the monster from the horror movies. For 30 years of its life, it grows up to 6.5 meters in length, and 300 sharp teeth arranged in three rows are updated every three months. The shark itself is gray, but its belly is white. This is an exceptional predator: in the diet of both fish and marine mammals. Representatives of the species live in all oceans, with the exception of the Arctic. The greatest number of attacks on humans belongs to these predators of the depths. How much a great white shark weighs is a moot point. The recorded case is a shark 6.4 meters long and weighing 3 tons. She was caught in 1945, and so far this is the largest white shark.

4th place: tiger shark

The most common representative of sharks in the world's oceans. It got its name for the dark stripes on the body. A predator that does not hesitate to attack a person. In the West Indies, it is considered the most dangerous representative of marine life. How much does a tiger shark weigh? According to statistics, up to 1.5 tons with a body length of up to 5.5 meters. At this size, she can hunt at depths of up to 3 meters and, surprisingly, does not live in captivity. It is a dangerous omnivorous predator. What was not found in the stomachs of tiger sharks! These are car license plates, household items, and even a chicken coop with bones and feathers of its inhabitants (there was a precedent)!

5th place: polar shark

The dimensions of this representative of the genus are not so large compared to the leaders of the rating: body length - up to 5 meters, weight - about 1 ton. These active predators live in the northern seas and the Arctic Ocean. Another name is Greenland or ice. A deep-sea species whose diet is dominated by octopuses. The meat of this shark is saturated with ammonia due to the lack of a urinary system. But the Icelanders' favorite dish is "hakarl" - rotten ice shark meat. Interestingly, in the process of radiological examination of the lens of the eye, scientists found that a shark 5 meters long has an age of 270 to 512 years. Today it is the longest-lived due to low metabolism.

The biggest shark is dead

Paleontologists have presented fossils of the extinct ancestor of modern sharks - megalodon, the largest predator of all times and peoples. Megalodon lived 23-25 ​​million years ago. Its size can be judged from the fossils of teeth and several vertebrae. The estimated length of this predator is up to 12 meters. How much the megalodon shark weighs, of course, we know purely theoretically. But calculations show 42 tons.

Features of the growth of sharks

Like all fish, sharks grow throughout their lives. For example, it has been proven that the ice shark grows an average of 1 centimeter per year. These studies have not been conducted on other representatives, and we have yet to explore this area. Sharks don't live long in captivity - that's a fact. That is why their study progressed only with the development of radio-electronic methods. Ichthyologists and oceanologists are only accumulating research data on the life of these amazing predators. But thanks to the existing developments, we can find out how much a tiger, white or whale shark weighs.

So, now we know the giants of our time among sharks. But numerous, however, officially unconfirmed data indicate that the sailors also saw larger representatives of sharks. And some scientists argue that megalodons still swim in the unexplored depths of the seas and oceans. We will probably never know how much the world's largest shark weighs because we haven't caught it yet.