Great White Shark
The Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as White Pointer, White Shark or
Amaletz, is an exceptionally large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. Reaching lengths of 7.2 metres (23 ft 7 in) and weights of
3,400 kilograms (7,496 pounds), the Great White is the world's largest predatory fish. They are the only known surviving species
of their genus, Carcharodon.
Great Whites have excellent eyesight and can see in color, and have highly-developed behaviors which are only now being
researched. Their reputation as ferocious predators is well-earned, yet they are not (as once was believed) indiscriminate
'eating machines.' Great White sharks primarily eat fishes and pinnipeds such as
seals and sea lions. The only animals known
to attack them are other Great Whites, Sperm Whales, humans and orcas.
Attacks on humans
While the Great White has been responsible for many fatalities in humans, it doesn't target humans as prey. Many incidents
seem to be caused by the animals 'test-biting' out of curiosity, as they are known to do with buoys, flotsam, and other
unfamiliar objects -- grabbing a human or a surfboard with their mouth, their only tactile organ, in order to determine what kind
of object it might be. Other incidents seem to be cases of mistaken identity, in which a shark ambushes a bather or surfer,
usually from below, believing the silhouette it sees on the surface is a seal. Humans, in any case, aren't good for Great White
sharks to eat, because the sharks' digestion is too slow to cope with the human body's high ratio of bone to muscle and fat.
Accordingly, in nearly all recorded attacks, Great Whites have broken off contact after the first bite. Fatalities are caused by
loss of blood from the initial injury. Most attacks also occur in waters with low visibility, or in other cases in which the
shark's senses are impaired.
Many "shark repellents" have been tested, some using smell, others using protective clothing, but to date the most effective
is an electronic beacon worn by the diver/surfer that emits a high frequency signal disturbing to the shark's elecromagnetic
sensors.
Great Whites, like many other sharks, have rows of teeth behind the main ones, allowing any that break off to be replaced
rapidly. Their teeth are unattached to the jaw and are retractable, like a cat's claws, moving into place when the jaw is opened.
This arrangement also seems to give their teeth high tactile sensitivity.
A diagram of the Great White Shark
Occurance in fiction
The Great White achieved high notoriety with Steven Spielberg's
blockbuster movie, Jaws, in 1975 (based on the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley).
Conservation status
It is unclear how much the film Jaws, and a consummate increase in fishing for Great Whites, had to do with the decline
of Great White populations from the 1970s to the present. No accurate numbers on population are available, but populations have
clearly declined to a point at which the Great White is now considered endangered. Their reproduction is slow, with sexual
maturity occurring at about nine years of age, such that populations can take a long time to rise. Great Whites are ovoviviparous, the eggs developing in the female's uterus, hatching there and
continuing to develop until they are born, at which point they are perfectly capable predators. The young are about 1.5 metres (4
ft 11 in) long when born. Next to nothing, however, is known about how and where the Great White mates.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) has
put the Great White Shark on its 'Appendix II' list of endangered species. The shark is targeted by fishermen for its jaws,
teeth, and fins, and as a game fish.
Related species
These sharks have an extinct relative, the Megalodon (Carcharodon
megalodon), which could possibly have reached sizes of 18 metres (59 ft) or more, and is currently known only from its teeth.
Megalodon is thought to have been similar to the White Shark, but substantially larger. From time to time it is suggested that
Megalodon might still exist, and teeth have in fact been found from as recently as 10-12,000 years ago. However, while Megalodon
fossils are widespread and plentiful, no evidence has surfaced that the species is anything but extinct.
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