Blue shark (Prionace glauca)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Elasmobranchii · Order: Carcharhiniformes · Family: Carcharhinidae · Genus: Prionace.

Accepted name: Prionace glauca · Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 105801.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Carcharhinus macki (Phillipps, 1935); Carcharias aethiops Philippi, 1902; Carcharias glaucus (Linnaeus, 1758); Carcharias gracilis Philippi, 1887; Carcharias hirundinaceus Valenciennes, 1839; Carcharias pugae Pérez Canto, 1886; Carcharias rondeletii (Risso, 1810); Carcharinus glaucus (Linnaeus, 1758); Galeus thalassinus Valenciennes, 1835; Glyphis glaucus (Linnaeus, 1758); Hypoprion isodus Philippi, 1887; Isurus glaucus (Linnaeus, 1758); Prionace mackiei Phillipps, 1935; Prionacea glauca (Linnaeus, 1758); Squalus adscensionis Osbeck, 1765; Squalus caeruleus Blainville, 1816; Squalus glaucus Linnaeus, 1758; Squalus rondeletii Risso, 1810; Thalassinus rondeletii (Risso, 1810); Thalassinus rondeletti (Risso, 1810); Thalassinus rondelettii (Risso, 1810); Thalassorhinus vulpecula Valenciennes, 1839.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105801 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Prionace glauca. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 400 cm · Common length: 335 cm · Depth range: 0–1082 m · Habitat zone: pelagic-oceanic · Body shape: fusiform / normal · Vulnerability index: 72.6 of 100 · Fishery importance: minor commercial · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: Oceanic, but may be found close inshore where the continental shelf is narrow (Ref. 6871, 58302). Usually found to at least 150 m (Ref. 26938). Maximum size from Ref. 128029. Reported from estuaries (Ref. 26340). Epipelagic, occasionally occurs in littoral areas (Ref. 58302). Feeds on fishes (herring, silver hake, white hake, red hake, cod, haddock, pollock, mackerel, butterfish, sea raven and flounders (Ref. 5951)), small sharks, squids, pelagic red crabs, cetacean carrion, occasional sea birds and garbage (Ref. 5578). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Sexual dimorphism occurs in skin thickness of maturing and adult females (Ref. 49562). May travel considerable distances (one specimen tagged in New Zealand was recaptured 1,200 km off the coast of Chile) (Ref. 26346). Potentially dangerous to humans (Ref. 6871, 13513). Marketed fresh, dried or salted, and frozen; meat utilized for consumption, hides for leather and fins for soup (Ref. 9987). Sexually mature at 250 cm long and 4-5 years old. The female gives birth up to 80 young measuring 40 cm long, gestation lasts almost a year (Ref. 35388). Produces from 4 to 135 young a litter (Ref. 26938). Minimum depth from Ref. 125614.

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 898) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Prionace-glauca.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

226,064 georeferenced occurrence records for Prionace glauca are published through GBIF from 91 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 123 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 46 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (146,726); Chile (49,491); Canada (19,179); France (3,138); Australia (1,547).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2417940) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2417940&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105801 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758) as Near Threatened (code NT). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 39381) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39381/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2417940) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2417940/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Although generally lethargic, they can move very quickly. Blue sharks are viviparous and are noted for large litters of 25 to over 100 pups. They feed primarily on small forage fish and squid, although they can take larger prey. Some of the blue shark's predators include the killer whale and larger sharks like the tiger shark and the great white shark. Their maximum lifespan is still unknown, but it is believed that they can live up to 20 years. They are one of the most abundant pelagic sharks, with large numbers being caught by fisheries as bycatch on longlines and nets.

The earliest fossil teeth of this species are known from the Miocene of Sri Lanka. Other fossil teeth of this species are known from the Miocene and Pliocene of Chile, Italy, and possibly Belgium.

A 2023 study suggested that the species should be reclassified into the genus Carcharhinus.

The blue shark is an oceanic and epipelagic shark found worldwide in deep temperate and tropical waters from the surface to about 350 m. In temperate seas it may approach shore, where it can be observed by divers; while in tropical waters, it inhabits greater depths. It lives as far north as Norway and as far south as Chile. Blue sharks are found off the coasts of every continent, except Antarctica. Its greatest Pacific concentrations occur between 20° and 50° North, but with strong seasonal fluctuations. In the tropics, it spreads evenly between 20° N and 20° S. It prefers water temperatures between 12, but can be seen in water ranging from 3.9. Records from the Atlantic show a regular clockwise migration within the prevailing currents.

Blue sharks are light-bodied with long pectoral fins. Like many other sharks, blue sharks are countershaded: the top of the body is deep blue, lighter on the sides, and the underside is white. The male blue shark commonly grows to 1.82 to 2.82 m at maturity, whereas the larger females commonly grow to 2.2 to 3.3 m at maturity. Large specimens can grow to 3.8 m long. Occasionally, an outsized blue shark is reported, with one widely printed claim of a length of 6.1 m, but no shark even approaching this size has been scientifically documented. The blue shark is fairly elongated and slender in build and typically weighs from 27 to 55 kg in males and from 93 to 182 kg in large females. Occasionally, a female in excess of 3 m will weigh over 204 kg. The heaviest reported weight for the species was 391 kg. However, anecdotal claims exist for the species to exceptionally reach 800 - 900 kg in weight, though these are not verified. The blue shark is also ectothermic.

The five senses that blue sharks share with other members of the Carcharhinidae family are vision, hearing, lateral line, chemoreception, and electroreception. These senses allow them to perceive and react to a variety of biotic or abiotic stimuli in their immediate environment and across a different range of spatial scales.

The well-developed eyes of blue sharks exhibit interspecific variations in their eye structure, which are characteristic of adaptations for vision in a variety of light environments, from the brightly lit surface waters to the darkness of the deep sea. The lateral position of the eyes in the head allows a cyclopean visual field of 360° in the vertical plane and between 308° and 338° in the horizontal plane.

The morphology of the inner ears of blue sharks is similar to that of other gnathostomes. It consists of a membranous labyrinth that is made up of three semicircular canals that are filled with fluid and arranged orthogonally, as well as three otolithic organs, which are the sacculus, utriculus, and lagena. These sharks are most sensitive to frequencies below roughly 100 Hz, but they can hear sounds up to roughly 1000 Hz.

The blue shark's lateral line is a mechanosensory structure that can detect particle motion. As such, it can react to mechanical disturbances caused by hydrodynamic stimuli that are not auditory. It is used to determine the direction and speed of water currents as well as the vibrations produced by prey, predators, and similar species moving through the water.

Blue sharks' chemosensory system is made up of gustation, and olfaction, which is a common chemical sense. Functions like intraspecific social interactions, communication, reproduction, and food detection are all linked to smell. Gustation is mainly related to feeding and involves using taste buds to process food and assess its palatability through direct contact, which usually results in a decision to swallow or reject it.

Blue sharks can detect weak electrical potentials generated by inanimate objects and other animals through specialized receptors. These sharks use their electrical sense to locate and capture prey, as well as to avoid predators. As they move through the Earth's magnetic field, they may also sense the weak electrical fields produced by nearby water currents or their own bodies, which can aid in navigation and orientation.

The ampullae of Lorenzini are electroreceptors of the ampullary type and develop from the lateral line placodes. Each ampulla consists of a pore on the surface of the skin, connected to a narrow dermal chamber called an ampullary bulb by a small canal with a diameter of about one millimetre. These sharks are most responsive to fluctuating electrical fields between 0.1 and 10 Hz, with peak sensitivity around 1 Hz.

Although the receptors primarily detect low-frequency alternating currents, they are particularly attracted to steady direct current electric fields. However, for the shark to detect a continuous DC voltage, it must move relative to the voltage source.

Source: Wikipedia: Blue shark — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_shark (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

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