Analysis Of The Great White Shark

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Sharks have several ways to dispatch their prey with surprise attacks, agility, and camouflaged sneak attacks. The shark’s dentition also tells the story of their diet as well as their method of attack. The Great White Shark, (Carcharodon carcharias), is the largest extant predatory shark on Earth and has large serrated teeth that tear through the flesh of its prey. Their teeth are 2.5-3 inches in height and have prominent serrations which allow them to tear large chunks out of prey including large fish, seals, sea lions, other sharks, carrion, dolphins, elephant seals, stingrays, and fish [8], [13]. These sharks hunt by swimming below the intended prey item and with a sudden burst of speed; they will attack with a large single bite and then swim off to allow the prey to bleed to death. These sharks are famous for breaching the water to grab seals and sea lions around the coast of South Africa in an area called Seal Island [7]. When the seals swim farther off from the island where the water is much deeper, the shark’s rate of a successful attack increase compared to the lowered success rate in shallower waters where the seals can easily outmaneuver them [7]. The bite force of the Great White measures around 4,000 pounds and is able to bite prey in half [10]. Great Whites …show more content…

Its teeth, like most shark teeth, have an upper tooth that does the tearing of flesh while the lower teeth puncture and hold onto prey [1]. The typical diet of a blue shark is mammalian carcasses, cuttlefish, octopus, smaller sharks, sea birds, crustaceans, but most important part of the diet is squid. In the documentary Blue Planet, it shows a blue shark preying upon a group of krill, which seems interesting considering the size of the shark. They attack like most sharks, with one large bite and wait for the prey to bleed to death

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