Watch for the biggest sharks in the world - very exciting. On TV, anyway. But if you are in their habitat, then become a potential food source for these ruthless underwater predators.
The good news is: most sharks, with a total of 450 species, are not large enough to threaten you. The smallest shark is only 17 centimeters in size. However, in the depths of the sea there are monsters and larger. And for some of the largest sharks, humans are just lunch.
Top 10 largest sharks in the world
10. Shark-mako - up to 4.45 meters in length, weight - 280 kg
The color of sharks-mako is one of the characteristics that distinguishes them from most relatives. The backs of these sharks can range from deep purples to bright blues. The sides are silver, and the belly is white.
The main enemies of mako sharks are people who eat their meat. The mako sharks themselves prefer dolphins, squid, mackerel, and sea turtles for lunch. They definitely have varied eating habits.
No shark in the world can swim as fast as a mako shark. The speed and distances these creatures can swim are incredible. The constant speed of the Mako shark is 35 km / h, and the fastest is 80 km / h.
9. Six-footed shark - 5.4 m, 590 kg
These deep-sea predators are distinguished by the following features: they have six pairs of long gill slits on each side of their broad head, comb-shaped teeth on the lower jaw and a long tail.
Six-footed sharks live on continental and island shelves in temperate and tropical seas around the world, in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
The diet of these huge sharks includes other sharks, seahorses, many species of large bone fish and invertebrates, including squid and crabs. It is also known that this shark eats dead animals such as seals and whales. As for interaction with people, it seems that the predator simply suffers the presence of bipeds in its territory. Divers regularly observe young six-branch sharks off the Pacific coast of Canada. Sometimes they swim close to divers and even surfers, but without threatening actions or physical contact.
8. Tiger shark - 5.5 m, 1500 kg
Perhaps even more dangerous than the great white tiger shark, as you know, it preys on seabirds, dolphins and other marine life. Often hunting near the shore, at a depth of 6 and even 3 meters, tiger sharks can attack divers. Their attacks often lead to a fatal outcome for humans than in the case of large white sharks. On average, 3-4 tiger shark attacks on humans occur annually.
They got their name thanks to the stripes on the body, reminiscent of the color of a tiger skin.
7. Pelagic large-mouthed shark - 5.7 m, 1500 kg
The appearance of this shark with huge jaws immediately suggests horror films, where a sad ending awaits the diver. However, do not be afraid, despite its appearance, the large-mouthed shark eats plankton.
Perhaps this view inspired people to create legends about monsters - half-whales, half-sharks.
Pelagic large-mouthed sharks are very rare, and do not represent commercial value.
6. Fox shark - 6.1 m, 500 kg
The species of fox sharks (they are sea foxes) includes three species. The largest of these is Alopias vulpinus. These predatory creatures prefer the open ocean without visiting depths below 500 meters. In the photo it is easy to see the most prominent part of the fox shark - this is the long upper lobe of the caudal fin. Sometimes it is equal in length to the entire body of the shark.
Humans are more dangerous for fox sharks than sharks for humans. These creatures are hunted because of their meat, skin, fins (used as a delicacy in soup) and the liver.
When people appear nearby, sea foxes get scared and immediately swim away. Although some divers may be stunned by the tail of the shark, which it uses as a whip.
5. Giant hammerhead shark - 6.1 m, 454 kg
Hammerhead sharks are very rare for humans, as they are on the verge of extinction.
This species of sharks is distinguished by beautiful fins and a special shape of the head - very flattened, with large outgrowths on the sides. These underwater inhabitants are clearly not among the most beautiful fish.
4. Greenland shark - 6.4 m, 1000 kg
Although the Greenland sharks are usually not aggressive, they are by far one of the largest sharks on the planet. And to approach them without a good reason is not worth it.
The diet of this shark consists mainly of fish and marine mammals, and because of its leisurelyness, it usually does not pose a danger to humans. However, there are stories that Greenland sharks attacked kayaks.
3. Great white shark - 6.4 m, 1900 kg
It may not be the largest shark on the list, but it is known as one of the most dangerous animals and the largest predatory fish on Earth. The size of the average adult is 4.4-4.6 meters, and body weight reaches 520-770 kg. But there is a lot of (unconfirmed) information about huge white sharks. According to her, the largest white shark can reach a length of up to 10 meters.
It's hard to measure how big a great white shark really is. There are three reasons for this:
- These predators live in water, and approaching them is not entirely safe, to say the least.
- Another problem is their incredible speed: large white sharks can reach speeds of up to 56 km / h.
- The third difficulty is that the bodies of white sharks are composed mainly of water. Therefore, when they find themselves on land, they dry out and become smaller in size.
It was the great white shark that was featured as an antagonist in the cult film Jaws.
2. Giant shark - 9.8 m, 4000 kg
Despite its awesome name, it is a harmless creature. It feeds not on divers or even smaller relatives, but on plankton (tiny animals that can be found near the surface of the water) and small fish.
Their mouths are huge; they can be more than 1 meter wide. It would be logical to assume that a shark of this size should have long, sharp teeth, similar to those of a large white or tiger shark. However, a giant shark has only a few rows of small teeth. The large size of their mouth and the small size of their teeth directly coincide with the unexpected shark diet. In order to eat, giant sharks keep their mouths open while swimming. So they collect plankton from the water.
Giant sharks are thermophilic and prefer moderately warm and warm waters. In addition, they prefer to swim near the shore, near the surface, for which they earned the nickname "solar fish".
1. Great whale shark - 20 m, 34,000 kg
This is the largest living shark in the world. Fortunately for most marine life - and us! - Plankton is a favorite dish of the whale shark. She does not have such sharp teeth as smaller sharks, but their number is very large, and reaches 15 thousand. To eat, the shark opens its heavy jaws and passively filters everything in its path with the help of a special filtering apparatus formed by branchial arches.
Preferring warm waters, whale sharks inhabit all the tropical seas of our planet. Every spring, they migrate to the continental shelf of Australia's central west coast, where they have an abundant supply of plankton.
Despite their enormous size, whale sharks are quite calm and harmless fish. Twitter even has a video in which a group of divers ride a whale shark.
https://twitter.com/fishGOD/status/1027580052387459072
The largest shark in history - 15-18 meters in length, weight - 47 tons
To the question of what is the largest shark in the world, science currently gives a confident answer - a large whale shark. But it was not always so.
About 20 million years ago, a predator appeared in the world, about which films and books are still being written. Its name is megalodon (Otodus megalodon, formerly known as Carcharodon or Carcharocles megalodon). For 13 million years, a huge shark dominated other living creatures in the oceans until it became extinct just 2.6 million years ago, during a global cooling snap.
Scientists suggest that the largest specimens of megalodons grew up to 18 meters in length. For comparison: the length of the largest snake in the world reaches 14.8 meters.
Estimates of the body size of megalodon are based on the size of the animal’s teeth, which can reach 18 cm in length. In fact, the word megalodon simply means "big tooth." It is curious that the teeth of megalodons were found on all continents except Antarctica.
This giant shark was fed by whales and large fish, possibly other sharks. The size of his jaw - 2.7 by 3.4 meters - was large enough to swallow two adults who are side by side.
The strength of a human bite is about 1317 Newtons (N), the strength of a bite of a great white shark is 18,211 N. The strength of a megalodon bite ranged from 108,514 to 182,201N.
What did megalodon look like?
Most reconstructions show megalodon looking like a great white shark. But scientists say this is not true.
Megalodon probably had a much shorter nose compared to a large white shark and a more flattened jaw. He had very long pectoral fins to support gigantic weight and size.
And the ancestor of the modern great white shark lived next to the megalodon. Some shark researchers believe that they could even compete with each other.
Could megalodon exist today?
If an animal the size of a megalodon still lived in the oceans, scientists would know about it.
Sharks leave their control marks - bites on other large marine animals, and their huge teeth continue to clog the ocean "floors". Not to mention the fact that being a heat-loving creature, megalodon will not be able to survive in the cold deep waters, where it has more chances to go unnoticed.
