Great White Shark

The Great White Shark.

Information
Write the first sec The  great white shark ,  Carcharodon carcharias, also known as the  great white ,  white pointer ,  white shark , or  white death , is a species of large  lamniform   shark  which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. The great white shark is mainly known for its size, with the largest individuals known to have approached or exceeded 6.1 m (20 ft) in length, [3]  and 2,268 kg (5,000 lb) in weight. [4]  This shark reaches its  maturity  around 15 years of age and can have a life span of over 30 years.

The great white shark is arguably the world's largest known extant macropredatory fish, and is one of the primary predators of marine mammals. It is also known to prey upon a variety of other marine animals, including fish and seabirds. It is the only known surviving species of its genusCarcharodon, and is ranked first in having the most attacks on humans.[5] [6]  The IUCN list the great white shark as a vulnerable species,[2]  while it is included in Appendix II of CITES.[7]

The bestselling novel  Jaws  by  Peter Benchley  and the subsequent  blockbuster film  by  Steven Spielberg  depicted the great white shark as a "ferocious  man eater ". In reality, humans are not the preferred prey of the great white shark. tion of your page here.

Height and Weight
Write the s Male great whites reach maturity at 3.5–4.0 m (11–13 ft) long and females at 4.5–5.0 m (15–16 ft) long. Adults on average are 4–5.2 m (13–17.1 ft) long and have a mass of 680–1,100 kg (1,500–2,400 lb). Females are generally larger than males. The great white shark can reach 6.1 m (20 ft) in length and 1,905 kg (4,200 lb)—2,268 kg (5,000 lb) in weight. [4] [3]  The maximum size is subject to debate because some reports are rough estimations or speculations performed under questionable circumstances. [18]  Among living  cartilaginous fish, only the  basking  and  whale sharks and the  manta ray  average larger and heavier. These three species are generally docile in disposition and given to passively  filter-feeding  on very small organisms. [19]

A number of very large great white shark specimens have been recorded.[20]  For decades, many ichthyological works, as well as the Guinness Book of World Records, listed two great white sharks as the largest individuals: In the 1870s, a 10.9 m (36 ft) great white captured in southern Australian waters, near Port Fairy, and a 11.3 m (37 ft) shark trapped in a herring weir in New Brunswick, Canada, in the 1930s. Some researchers question these measurements' reliability, noting they were much larger than any other accurately reported sighting. This New Brunswick shark may have been a misidentified basking shark, as the two have similar body shapes. The question of the Port Fairy shark was settled in the 1970s when J. E. Randall examined the shark's jaws and "found that the Port Fairy shark was of the order of 5 m (17 ft) in length and suggested that a mistake had been made in the original record, in 1870, of the shark's length".[21]

According to J. E. Randall, the largest white shark reliably measured was a 6.0 m (19.7 ft) individual reported from Ledge Point, Western Australiain 1987.[21]  Another great white specimen of similar size has been verified by the Canadian Shark Research Center: A female caught by David McKendrick of Alberton, Prince Edward Island, in August 1988 in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_St._Lawrence Gulf of St. Lawrence] off Prince Edward Island. This female great white was 6.1 m (20 ft) long.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-LGWS_3-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  However, there is a report considered reliable by some experts of a larger great white shark specimen from Cuba in 1945. This specimen was 6.4 m (21 ft) long and had a body mass of about 3,324 kg (7,328 lb).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Tricas_1984_22-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[22] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWB_23-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[23] Great white shark caught off Hualien County, Taiwan, on May 14, 1997: It was reportedly almost 7 m (23 ft) in length with a mass of 2,500 kg (5,500 lb).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mollet_20-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[20] <p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">Several great white sharks caught in modern times have been estimated to be more than 7 m (23 ft) long,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  but these claims have received some criticism.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EllisMcCosker_18-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[18] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  However, J. E. Randall believed that great white shark may have exceeded 6.1 m (20 ft) in length.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-SAWP_21-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[21]  A great white shark was captured near Kangaroo Island in Australia on April 1, 1987. This shark was estimated to be more than 7 m (23 ft) long by Peter Resiley,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-SAWP_21-3" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[21] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[25]  and has been designated as KANGA.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  Another great white shark was caught in Malta by Alfredo Cutajar on April 16, 1987. This shark was also estimated to be around 7.13 m (23.4 ft) long by John Abela and has been designated as MALTA.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-3" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  However, Cappo drew criticism because he used shark size estimation methods proposed by J. E. Randall to suggest that the KANGA specimen was 5.8–6.4 m (19–21 ft) long.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-4" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  In a similar fashion, I. K. Fergusson also used shark size estimation methods proposed by J. E. Randall to suggest that the MALTA specimen was 5.3–5.7 m (17–19 ft) long.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-5" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24] However, photographic evidence suggested that these specimens were larger than the size estimations yielded through Randall's methods.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-6" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  Thus, a team of scientists—H. F. Mollet, G. M. Cailliet, A. P. Klimley, D. A. Ebert, A. D. Testi, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Compagno L. J. V. Compagno]—reviewed the cases of the KANGA and MALTA specimens in 1996 to resolve the dispute by conducting a comprehensive morphometric analysis of the remains of these sharks and re-examination of photographic evidence in an attempt to validate the original size estimations and their findings were consistent with them. The findings indicated that estimations by P. Resiley and J. Abela are reasonable and could not be ruled out.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GWS_24-7" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24] Great white shark's skeleton<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">One contender in maximum size is the tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier. While tiger sharks which are typically both a few feet smaller and have a leaner, less heavy body structure than white sharks, have been confirmed to reach at least 5.5 metres (18 ft) in the length, an unverified specimen was reported to have measured 7.4 metres (24 ft) in length and weighed 3,110 kilograms (6,860 lb).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Wood_19-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[19] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[26]  Some other macropredatory sharks such as the Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, and the Pacific sleeper shark,Somniosus pacificus, are also reported to rival these sharks in length (but probably weigh a bit less since they more slender in build than a great white) in exceptional cases.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[27] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[28]  The question of maximum weight is complicated by the unresolved question of whether or not to include the shark's stomach contents when weighing the shark. With a single bite a great white can take in up to 14 kg (31 lb) of flesh, and can also consume several hundred kilograms of food.

The largest great white recognized by the  International Game Fish Association  (IGFA) is one caught by Alf Dean in the south Australian waters in 1959, weighing 1,208 kg (2,663 lb). <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EllisMcCosker_18-2" style="font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[18]  Several larger great whites caught by anglers have since been verified, but were later disallowed from formal recognition by IGFA monitors for rules vio econd section of your page here.