Great White Shark

Carcharodon carcharias

 

Great White Shark
 
GREAT WHITE SHARK ID GUIDE 
 
Maximum size

Females up to 21 feet (6.4 m) and males up to 18 feet (5.5 m).

Range

Cosmopolitan in most seas and oceans, concentrating in temperate waters.  Highly migratory with trans-oceanic movements.  In the Western Atlantic from Newfoundland to Florida, Brazil and Argentina.

Diet

Wide range of bony fishes, smaller sharks, stingrays, and marine mammals, including scavenged carcasses.  Occasionally prey on sea turtles and birds.

Depth Range

Primarily coastal and offshore continental shelves.  May travel across ocean basins to reach spawning and hunting grounds off oceanic islands.

Ecology

Often seen at the surface, close inshore, but can also occur offshore and even penetrating shallow bays.