Description: A huge, spindle-shaped shark with conspicuous black eyes, a blunt, conical snout and large, triangular, saw-edged teeth. Caudal fin crescentic. Lead-grey to brown or black above, lighter on sides, and abruptly white below. Black spot at rear pectoral fin base.
Reproduction: Ovoviviparous, embryos feeding on yolk sac and other ova produced by the mother. Number of young born per litter, 7 to 14.
Maturity: range 450 - 500 cm
Behavioural ecology: Usually solitary or in pairs but can be found in feeding aggregations of 10 or more; does not form schools. May attack humans.
Population structure & migrations: Can migrate across oceanic regions.
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 0 - 1280 m, usually 0 - 250 m.
Habitat: Pelagic-oceanic.
Feeding habits: Feeds on bony fishes, sharks, rays, seals, dolphins and porpoises, sea birds, carrion, squid, octopi, crabs, and whales Considered the world's largest predator with a broad prey spectrum.
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Nieto A., Ralph G.M., Comeros-Raynal M.T., Kemp J., GarcÃa Criado M., Allen D.J., Dulvy N.K., Walls R.H.L., Russell B., Pollard D., GarcÃa S., Craig M., Collette B.B., Pollom R., Biscoito M., Labbish Chao N., Abella A., Afonso P., Ãlvarez H., Carpenter K.E., Clò S., Cook R., Costa M.J., Delgado J., Dureuil M., Ellis J.R., Farrell E.D., Fernandes P., Florin A-B., Fordham S., Fowle, S., Gil de Sola L., Gil Herrera J., Goodpaster A., Harvey M., Heessen H., Herler J., Jung A., Karmovskaya E., Keskin C., Knudsen S.W., Kobyliansky S., KovaÄić M., Lawson J.M., Lorance P., McCully Phillips S., Munroe T., Nedreaas K., Nielsen J., Papaconstantinou C., Polidoro B., Pollock C.M., Rijnsdorp A.D., Sayer C., Scott J., Serena F., Smith-Vaniz W.F., Soldo A., Stump E., Williams J.T. (2015). Europen Red List of Marine Fishes. IUCN and European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 90 pp.
