Sharks Codexery

Great white shark

A large, partially warm-blooded shark with a fearsome reputation, but rarely preys on humans.

Last updated

Great white shark

Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0

The great white shark is one of the largest predatory fish on the planet, found in temperate and tropical waters around the world.[1][2] Great whites are apex predators—they sit at the top of the ocean food web.[3][4]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. DivisionSelachii
  6. OrderLamniformes
  7. FamilyLamnidae
  8. GenusCarcharodon
  9. SpeciesCarcharodon carcharias

Named by (Linnaeus, 1758)

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Great white shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 105838 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU▲ this species
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2022

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

Where the great white shark has been recorded

Where the great white shark has been recorded125 mapped locations from 18,258 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic OceanPacific OceanAtlantic Ocean

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (18,258 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 48 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Genus
Carcharodon
Species
carcharias

Facts from the source article.

Description

The white shark has a stocky, torpedo-shaped body with a short, cone-shaped snout and long gill slits that do not reach around the head.[5] It has a large triangular first dorsal fin, a tiny second dorsal fin, and a tail fin with two lobes of similar size and a single ridge.[5] Its coloration is countershaded for camouflage: dark blue-gray or gray-brown on top with a white underside, and black tips on the underside of the pectoral fins.[5][6] The skin is covered in tiny tooth-like scales called dermal denticles, which are proportionally smaller than in other sharks and have a three-to-five-ridged surface.[6]

Great white shark
Great white shark. Image: DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The triangular teeth can reach 7.5 cm, and a total of around 300 teeth are arranged in rows like a conveyor belt.[7][8]

Biology and ecology

They mainly hunt seals by ambush from below, often targeting newly weaned young.[3][9] They are estimated to swim 2.88–4.86 km/h but can sprint up to 24.12 km/h.[10] A 2015 study concluded that males reach maturity at about 26 years and females at 33 years, and they are estimated to reach over 70 years of age.[11][12] As many as 116 parasite species infest white sharks, including tapeworms and copepod crustaceans.[13]

Great White Shark
Great White Shark. Image: Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

When white sharks hunt Cape fur seals off the coast of South Africa, they often launch themselves out of the water, breaching the surface to grab their prey.[9] More than 95 percent of a white shark's muscle is the white, fast-twitch kind, which lets it explode into action for quick bursts of speed.[7] A white shark's liver is huge and has two lobes, making up almost 30 percent of its total body weight.[14] White sharks can warm up parts of their body using a special network of blood vessels—a kind of heat exchanger called the rete mirabile.[15]

Albino Great white shark pup South Africa 1
Albino Great white shark pup South Africa 1. Image: South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

This system lets them stay active and hunt in chilly waters by trapping heat from their dark muscles and moving it around the body instead of letting it escape through the gills.[15] White sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs hatch inside the mother. After about 12 months, she gives live birth to two to ten pups.[16] White sharks are mostly solitary, but they do gather in groups. They communicate with a complex set of body language—at least 20 different signals.[17][18] Around South Africa, orcas flip the sharks onto their backs, which triggers a paralyzed, immobile state, and then they eat the sharks' livers.[19]

Albino Great white shark pup South Africa 2
Albino Great white shark pup South Africa 2. Image: South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Orcas sometimes prey on white sharks.[19]

Distribution and habitat

White sharks live in tropical, temperate, and even colder waters worldwide. Major populations are in the Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, southern Africa, and Oceania.[2] Juvenile white sharks are more limited to shallow coastal waters with temperatures between 14 and 24 °C.[20] White sharks travel huge distances, following food and water temperature. They may also migrate to find a mate.[21]

Great White Shark
Great White Shark. Image: Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Human interactions

White sharks do not appear to find humans suitable as prey, and the "mistaken identity" hypothesis suggests they may bite surfboards because they resemble seals.[22][23] Of all shark species, the white shark has the most recorded bites on humans. As of 2024, 351 unprovoked attacks have been documented since 1580.[22] It receives legal protection in several countries, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.[24][25][26][27] White sharks were never a big deal for commercial fishing, but because they're so huge and have such a scary reputation, they became a popular target for sport fishing.[28]

Albino Great white shark pup South Africa 3
Albino Great white shark pup South Africa 3. Image: South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

The white shark is listed under CITES Appendix II, which means you need a permit to trade any part of the shark internationally.[29]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Carl Linnaeus first described the white shark in 1758, giving it the scientific name Squalus carcharias.[30] By 1838, Sir Andrew Smith moved it to the new genus Carcharodon.[30] The white shark is the only living species in the genus Carcharodon. It's one of five living species in the family Lamnidae, along with mako sharks, the porbeagle, and the salmon shark.[31] Paleontologists trace its ancestry to a large extinct shark called Carcharodon hastalis, which had similar teeth but no serrations.[32][33]

The oldest white shark fossils we've found come from the Pacific basin and date back to about 6 to 5 million years ago.[34] Between about 8 and 6 million years ago, a group of C. hastalis sharks living in the Pacific evolved into a new species called C. hubbelli.[35] Over the next few million years, these sharks gradually developed serrations on their teeth.[35]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McClain, "Sizing Ocean Giants: Patterns of Intraspecific Size Variation in Marine Megafauna", PeerJ, 2015; Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11; Compagno, "Sharks of the World", Princeton University Press, 2005, p. 181–182; Civard-Racinais 2012, p. 12 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharodon carcharias", Florida Museum, 2018; Christiansen, "The Last Frontier: Catch Records of White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean", PLOS ONE, 2014; O'Connell, "A Global Review of White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Parturition", Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2024, p. 869–893; Gonçalves-Neto, "White Shark or Shortfin Mako? Lamnid Sharks Identification in an Overlapping Area of the Equatorial Southwestern Atlantic", Ocean and Coastal Research, 2024; Cione, "Causes and Contrasts in Current en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Skomal 2023, p. 39; Hammerschlag, N.; Martin, R. A.; Fallows, C.; Collier, R. S.; Lawrence, R. "Investigatory Behavior towards Surface Objects and Nonconsumptive Strikes on Seabird; Skomal 2023, p. 39; Tinker, "Dramatic Increase in Sea Otter Mortality from White Sharks in California", Marine Mammal Science, 2016, p. 309–326; Skomal 2023, p. 39; Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11; Skomal 2023, p. 39; Martin, "Sociable Killers: New Studies of the White Shark (Aka Great White) Show That Its Social Life and Hunting Strategies Are Surprisingly Com en.wikipedia.org
  4. "Carcharodon carcharias", Florida Museum, 2018. facts only, no text reused. floridamuseum.ufl.edu
  5. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharodon carcharias", Florida Museum, 2018; Compagno, "Sharks of the World", Princeton University Press, 2005, p. 181–182 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, "Sharks of the World", Princeton University Press, 2005, p. 181–182; Civard-Racinais 2012, p. 12; Robbins, "Further Evidence of Pigmentation Change in White Sharks, Carcharodon carcharias", Marine and Freshwater Research, 2012, p. 1215–1217; Skomal 2023, p. 39; Sayama, "Three-Dimensional Shape of Natural Riblets in the White Shark: Relationship Between the Denticle Morphology and Swimming Speed of Sharks", Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Skomal 2023, p. 39 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hunt, "Form, Function and Feeding: Changes in Tooth Size and Shape Associated With Ontogenetic Changes in Prey Consumption by Australian White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)", Ecology and Evolution, January 2026; Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Klimley, "The Predatory Behavior of the White Shark", March–April 1994, p. 122–133; Klimley, A. P.; Pyle, P.; Anderson, S. D. "The Behavior of White Sharks and Their Pinniped Prey during Predatory Attacks" in pp. 181, 191; Tricas, "Predatory Behaviour of the White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), With Notes on Its Biology", Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 1984, p. 221–238; Klimley, "The Predatory Behavior of the White Shark", March–April 1994, p. 122–133; Martin, "Predatory Behaviour of White Sharks (Carcharodon carc en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Watanabe, "Swimming Strategies and Energetics of Endothermic White Sharks During Foraging", Journal of Experimental Biology, 2019, p. jeb185603; Watanabe, "Hunting Behaviour of White Sharks Recorded by Animal-Borne Accelerometers and Cameras", Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2019, p. 221–227; Bonfil, "Transoceanic Migration, Spatial Dynamics, And Population Linkages of White Sharks", Science, 2005, p. 100–103 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Natanson, "Age and Growth of the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, In the Western North Atlantic Ocean", Marine and Freshwater Research, 2015, p. 387–398 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Natanson, "Age and Growth of the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, In the Western North Atlantic Ocean", Marine and Freshwater Research, 2015, p. 387–398; Hillary, "Genetic Relatedness Reveals Total Population Size of White Sharks in Eastern Australia and New Zealand", Scientific Reports, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hoyos-Padilla, "Observation of an Attack by a Cookiecutter Shark (Isistius Brasiliensis) on a White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)", Pacific Science, 2013, p. 129–134; Shamsi, "How Much Do We Know About the Parasites of Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) And Why They Matter?", International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 2025; Ruhnke, "A New Species of Clistobothrium (Cestoda: Tetraphyllidea), With an Evaluation of the Systematic Status of the Genus", Journal of Parasitology, 1993, p. 37–43; Caira, "Intrigu en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Del Raye, "Travelling Light: White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) Rely on Body Lipid Stores to Power Ocean-Basin Scale Migration", Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2013; Pethybridge, "Lipid, Fatty Acid and Energy Density Profiles of White Sharks: Insights into the Feeding Ecology and Ecophysiology of a Complex Top Predator", PLOS ONE, 2014; Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11; Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11; Del Raye, "Travelling Light: White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) Rely on Body Lipid Stores to Power Ocean-Basin Sc en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ferrón, "Regional Endothermy as a Trigger for Gigantism in Some Extinct Macropredatory Sharks", PLOS ONE, 2017; Goldman, "Regulation of Body Temperature in the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias", Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 1997, p. 423–429; Ferrón, "Regional Endothermy as a Trigger for Gigantism in Some Extinct Macropredatory Sharks", PLOS ONE, 2017; Goldman, "Regulation of Body Temperature in the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias", Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 1997, p. 423–429; Skomal 2023, p. 39; Skomal 2023, p en.wikipedia.org
  16. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Skomal 2023, p. 39; Skomal 2023, p. 39; Sato, "How Great White Sharks Nourish Their Embryos to a Large Size: Evidence of Lipid Histotrophy in Lamnoid Shark Reproduction", Biology Open, 2016, p. 1211–1215 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  17. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Findlay, "How Solitary Are White Sharks: Social Interactions or Just Spatial Proximity?", Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2016, p. 1735–1744; Schilds, "Evidence for Non-Random Co-Occurrences In a White Shark Aggregation", Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2019; Papastamatiou, "Social Dynamics and Individual Hunting Tactics of White Sharks Revealed by Biologging", Biology Letters, 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  18. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sociable Killers", Natural History, 2006, p. 42–48; "Sociable Killers", Natural History, 2006, p. 42–48; "Social Interactions Among Bait-Attracted White Sharks at Dyer Island (South Africa)", Marine Biology Research, 2010, p. 408–414 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  19. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heithaus, "Predator–prey and Competitive Interactions Between Sharks (Order Selachii) and Dolphins (Suborder Odontoceti): A Review", Journal of Zoology, 2001, p. 53–68; Pyle, "Predation on a White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) by a Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) and a Possible Case of Competitive Displacement", Marine Mammal Science, 1999, p. 563–568; Turner, "Showdown at Sea: What Happens When Great White Sharks Go Fin-To-Fin With Killer Whales?", National Wildlife, Oct–Nov 2004; Reeves, "Genetic Evidence of Killer Whale Predation on W en.wikipedia.org
  20. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharodon carcharias", Florida Museum, 2018; Compagno, "Sharks of the World", Princeton University Press, 2005, p. 181–182; Bonfil, "Transoceanic Migration, Spatial Dynamics, And Population Linkages of White Sharks", Science, 2005, p. 100–103; Skomal, "Movements of the White Shark Carcharodon carcharias in the North Atlantic Ocean", Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2017, p. 1–16; "Carcharodon carcharias", Florida Museum, 2018; Gaube, "Mesoscale Eddies Influence the Movements of Mature Female White Sharks in the Gulf Stream and Sarga en.wikipedia.org
  21. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jorgensen, "Philopatry and Migration of Pacific White Sharks", Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2010, p. 679–688 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  22. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Species Implicated in Attacks", Florida Museum, 24 January 2018; Martin, "White Shark Attacks: Mistaken Identity", Biology of Sharks and Rays, 2003; Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  23. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tricas, "Predatory Behaviour of the White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), With Notes on Its Biology", Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 1984, p. 221–238; Ryan, "A Shark's Eye View: Testing the 'Mistaken Identity Theory' Behind Shark Bites on Humans", Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2021; Ritter, "Do White Shark Bites on Surfers Reflect Their Attack Strategies on Pinnipeds?", Journal of Marine Biology, 2016, p. 1–7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  24. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Civard-Racinais 2012, p. 12; Curtis, T. H.; Bruce, B. D.; Cliff, G.; Dudley, S. F. J.; Klimley, A. P.; Kock, A.; Lea, R. N.; Lowe, C. G. "Responding to the Risk of White Shark Attack Update; Gennari, "Uncertainty Remains for White Sharks in South Africa, As Population Stability and Redistribution Cannot Be Concluded by Bowlby Et Al. (2023): "Decline or Shifting Distribution? A First Regional Trend Assessment; Cliff, G.; Van Der Elst, R. P.; Govender, A.; Witthuhn, T. K.; Bullen, E. M. "First estimates of mortality and population size en.wikipedia.org
  25. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hillary, "Genetic Relatedness Reveals Total Population Size of White Sharks in Eastern Australia and New Zealand", Scientific Reports, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  26. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Great White Sharks to Be Protected", The New Zealand Herald, 30 November 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  27. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "White Shark: Overview", NOAA Fisheries, 19 February 2025; Haiken, Melanie, "Cape Cod May Have the Highest Density of Great White Sharks in the World", National Geographic, 5 July 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  28. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  29. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rigby, C. L., "Carcharodon carcharias", 2022; "Carcharodon carcharias", UNEP-WCMC Species Database: CITES-Listed Species On the World Wide Web; "Regulation of Trade in Specimens of Species Included in Appendix II", CITES (1973); "A Genomic Test of Sex-Biased Dispersal in White Sharks", PNAS, 2025; Pinson, J., "There's Something Fishy Going on with Great White Sharks That Scientists Can't Explain", Florida Museum, 5 August 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  30. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharodon carcharias, Great White Shark", FishBase; "Carcharodon carcharias", Florida Museum, 2018; Ellis McCosker 1991, p. 11; Jordan, D. S., "The Generic Name of the Great White Shark, Squalus carcharias L.", Copeia, 1925, p. 17–20 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  31. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharodon carcharias, Great White Shark", FishBase (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  32. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davis, J., "Shark Evolution: A 450 Million Year Timeline", Natural History Museum (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  33. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Origin of the White Shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes: Lamnidae), Based on Recalibration of the Late Neogene, Pisco Formation of Peru", Palaeontology, 2012, p. 1139–1153; McCormack, "Miocene marine vertebrate trophic ecology reveals megatooth sharks as opportunistic supercarnivores", Earth and Planetary Science Letters, August 2025; "Origin of the White Shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes: Lamnidae), Based on Recalibration of the Late Neogene, Pisco Formation of Peru", Palaeontology, 2012, p. 1139–1153; Collareta, "A Well Preserved Skeleton en.wikipedia.org
  34. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Early Pliocene Extinction of the Mega-Toothed Shark Otodus Megalodon: A View from the Eastern North Pacific", PeerJ, 2019; "Origin of the White Shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes: Lamnidae), Based on Recalibration of the Late Neogene, Pisco Formation of Peru", Palaeontology, 2012, p. 1139–1153 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  35. Wikipedia, "Great white shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Origin of the White Shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes: Lamnidae), Based on Recalibration of the Late Neogene, Pisco Formation of Peru", Palaeontology, 2012, p. 1139–1153; Godfrey, "New light on the trophic ecology of Carcharodon hastalis from teeth embedded in Miocene cetacean vertebrae from Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, USA", Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 3 July 2025, p. 329–337; Nakagawa, F., "Sharks of the Genus Carcharodon II", J-Elasmo, 2023; "The Early Pliocene Extinction of the Mega-Toothed Shark Otodus Megalodon: A View from the en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Great white shark (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. To which genus does the great white shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharodon.

2. What is the IUCN Red List category of the great white shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Vulnerable.

3. To which biological family does the great white shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lamnidae.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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