Metazoa info

[Duke Guilmon]

Great White Shark



Size: Males 3.5-4.0m, Females 4.5-5.0m

Weight: 680-1,100kg

Life expectancy: 70 years

When it first appeared: These sharks appeared in the Miocene 16 Mya

Location: Great whites live in all most every ocean from north west Alaska to Argentina. The waters are from the temperature of 12-24°C 



Taxonomy:
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Selachimorpha
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Lamnidae
Genus: Carcharodon 
Species: Carcharodon carcharias 

Anatomy: Great whites are incredibly powerful. They have a bite force of 4,000 psi. Their serrated teeth can easily cut through flesh with ease. Their muscles are incredibly powerful, in fact, great white sharks in south africa can jump incredibly high in the air. 

Behavior: This animal is solitary for the most part. They spend most of their days swimming and observing the world. Great whites are curious biting and bumping everything to see what it is.

Reproduction: Little is known about great white shark mating. They reach sexual maturity around 26 in males and 33 years in females. Great whites are ovoviviparous and have a 11-month gestation period. The sharks that hatch while in the mom engage in oophagy, meaning they feed on the ova. Females give birth around spring and summer.

Relationships with other animals: Great whites do have some animals that cause problems. Orcas have been known to attack and eat great white sharks and scaring them away. Humans have also had a hand in attacking the great white shark, both by fishing and capturing them. 



This picture makes me feel like I forgot something

Other sources:

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates...shark.html

http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=38

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-...ite-shark/