Sharks Codexery

Blue shark

A widespread, migratory shark of temperate and tropical oceans.

Last updated

Blue shark

Diego Delso · via Wikipedia: Blue shark · CC BY-SA 4.0

Blue sharks are requiem sharks that live in deep waters across the world’s temperate and tropical oceans.[1] Fisheries haul in huge numbers of these open-ocean sharks as accidental catches on longlines and in nets.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. DivisionSelachii
  6. OrderCarcharhiniformes
  7. FamilyCarcharhinidae
  8. GenusPrionace
  9. SpeciesPrionace glauca

Named by (Linnaeus, 1758)

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Blue shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 105801 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Near Threatened (NT)

  1. LC
  2. NT▲ this species
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2019

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

How big is it?

Size comparison: Blue shark and a personA 3.1 m long blue shark drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.3.1 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 3.1 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Blue shark

Where the blue shark has been recorded

Where the blue shark has been recorded118 mapped locations from 226,064 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (226,064 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 42 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Description

The blue shark is ectothermic, meaning its body temperature is regulated by the surrounding water.[3] This shark has a slender build and notably long pectoral fins.[4] Their coloring is a classic countershading pattern: a deep blue back, lighter flanks, and a white belly.[4] Mature males usually measure between 1.82 and 2.82 meters long. Females are typically bigger, ranging from 2.2 to 3.3 meters.[4]

Really big individuals can reach lengths of 3.8 meters.[4] Males typically weigh from 27 to 55 kg, and large females from 93 to 182 kg.[4]

Biology and ecology

Squid are the most important prey, but their diet also includes cuttlefish, octopuses, lobster, shrimp, crab, many bony fishes, small sharks, mammalian carrion, and occasional sea birds.[5] They give birth to 4 to 135 pups per litter after a gestation period of 9 to 12 months.[6] People have watched them team up like a pack to round up prey into a tight bunch.[5] Even though they're usually sluggish, they can swim fast when they need to.[2]

After birth, the pups are left to fend for themselves in special nursery areas that are separate from where the adults hang out.[6] Nobody knows for sure how long they can live, but experts think they might make it to 20 years.[2] Killer whales and bigger sharks, like tiger sharks and great whites, are known to prey on them.[2]

Distribution and habitat

In temperate seas, they might come close to shore where divers can see them, but in tropical waters they stick to deeper areas.[7]

Human interactions

Blue shark meat is edible but not widely sought after. People eat it fresh, dried, smoked, or salted, or turn it into fishmeal.[8] The IUCN lists blue sharks as Near Threatened.[9][10] It's very rare for a blue shark to bite a person.[11] About 85 to 90 percent of all sharks and rays accidentally caught by open-ocean fisheries are blue sharks.[9]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The blue shark is classified as Prionace glauca, with the authority Linnaeus, 1758.[12][13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Silva, "Current knowledge on biology, fishing and conservation of the blue shark (Prionace glauca)", Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 2021-01-21, p. 71–88; Mount, J.D., "Late Pliocene vertebrates from the Newport Bay area, Orange County, California.", Bulletin of the Southern California Paleontological Society, 1969, p. 2-3; Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date", Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1984, p. 521–524, 555–561, 590 (we also en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fertl, "A report of killer whales (Orcinus orca) feeding on a carcharhinid shark in Costa Rica", Marine Mammal Science, 1996, p. 606–611; Sharks – Greenland (Somniosus microcephalus), Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), Blue Shark (Prionace glauca), Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus), and Porbeagle; Nakano, H., & Stevens, J.D. (2008). The biology and ecology of the blue shark, Prionace glauca. Sharks of the open ocean: Biology, fisheries and conservation, 1 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: . elasmollet.org (March 2008); Flindt, "Amazing Numbers in Biology", Springer Science & Business Media, 21 December 2006, p. 12; Berger, "Ocean: Reflections on a Century of Exploration", University of California Press, 6 May 2009, p. 264 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: FLMNH Ichthyology Department: Blue Shark . Flmnh.ufl.edu. Retrieved on 2012-12-19.; Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) – Ireland's Wildlife . Irelandswildlife.com (2011-07-21). Retrieved on 2012-12-19.; Sharks – Greenland (Somniosus microcephalus), Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), Blue Shark (Prionace glauca), Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus), and Porbeagle; Sea Angling in Ireland – Blue Shark. Sea-angling-ireland.org (2006-10-21). Retrieved on 2012-12-19. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Prionace glauca (Blue Shark)", Animal Diversity Web; Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date", Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1984, p. 521–524, 555–561, 590 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date", Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1984, p. 521–524, 555–561, 590 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lopez, S., "Heavy Metal Concentrations of two highly migratory sharks (Prionace glauca and Isurus oxyrinchus) in the south-eastern Pacific waters: comments on public health and conservation", Tropical Conservation Scienc; Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date", Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1984, p. 521–524, 555–561, 590 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: da Silva, "Current knowledge on biology, fishing and conservation of the blue shark (Prionace glauca)", Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 2021-01-21, p. 71–88; Duffy, "Conservation status of New Zealand chondrichthyans (chimaeras, sharks and rays), 2016", Department of Conservation, 2018, p. 11; Rigby, C.L., "Prionace glauca", 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. IUCN Red List assessment (category and year as redistributed in GBIF's IUCN Red List checklist). IUCN Red List terms: fact (category, year) cited, no text reused. iucnredlist.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Blue shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Species Implicated in Attacks :: Florida Museum of Natural History. Flmnh.ufl.edu. Retrieved on 2016-11-17. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. World Register of Marine Species, Prionace glauca (AphiaID 105801). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  13. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Prionace glauca (taxon key 2417940). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Blue 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.

Related entries

Same family (Carcharhinidae)

Bull shark Carcharhinus leucasLemon shark Negaprion brevirostrisOceanic whitetip Carcharhinus longimanusPigeye shark (Carcharhinus amboinensis) Carcharhinus amboinensisPondicherry shark (Carcharhinus hemiodon) Carcharhinus hemiodon

Named in this entry

International Union for Conservation of NatureSpeciesFamily (taxonomy)Fish migrationNew EnglandGreat white sharkCarcharhinusAntarctica

More in Reef sharks

Requiem sharkAbdouniaRiver sharkWhitetip reef sharkCarcharhinusAustralian blacktip sharkBignose sharkBlacknose sharkBlackspot sharkBlacktip reef sharkBlacktip sharkBorneo shark

Elsewhere in Sharks

Whale shark · Carpet sharksWobbegong · Carpet sharksGreenland shark · Dogfish sharks and relativesSawshark · Dogfish sharks and relativesHammerhead shark · Hammerhead sharksMegalodon · Mackerel sharks

Test yourself

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

1. What is the scientific name of the blue shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Prionace glauca.

From the source: “The blue shark (Prionace glauca), also known as the great blue shark, is a species of requiem shark in the family Carcharhinidae which inhabits deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans.”

2. To which biological family does the blue shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinidae.

From the source: “The blue shark (Prionace glauca), also known as the great blue shark, is a species of requiem shark in the family Carcharhinidae which inhabits deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans.”

3. What is the IUCN Red List category of the blue shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Near Threatened.

From the source: “It is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.”

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.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →