Carcharodon carcharias

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Scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias
Common name: The Great White Shark, Tommy Shark, and to sailors the Great White Death.
Size: Up to 25-30' but usually within 20-25' range
Origin: The Great White can be found in temperate waters in North & South America, Africa, Japan, China, Russia, New Zealand, and possibly the most common place, Australia.
Tank setup: The Great White has never been successfully housed in an aquarium setting. The longest recorded was in Sea World, Australia for 21 days, the shark had to be let go due to poor health. However, every other attempt has failed with the shark dying.
Equipment: The Great White can have up to 3,000 razor-sharp teeth in rows however, many teeth do fall out and are replaced by new ones. Teeth can reach up to 2.25" in length and are serrated like razors.

*The Great White Shark belongs to the family Lamnidae
*Great Whites belong within the monotypic genus Carcharodon, is related to four other Mackerel sharks (Makos, Isurus spp. & Porbeagles or Salmon sharks, and Lamna spp.) in the Family Lamnidae.

Hunting & Feeding habits. The White Death is the most appropriate name for these intelligent creatures when it comes to feeding. Seals are the White Sharks main food source and are often hunted in packs. White Sharks often travel in packs of 7 or 8, making them the true "wolves of the water". The packs usually comprise of two to three females, larger males, and one leader male. The packs have been observed in instances to spread out in a ring around a sea lion breeding ground, about a mile from each shark. As the sharks slowly close in the seals sense the ambush and rush to shore. However, the packs usually kill and eat about 10-15 seals, depending on how sucessful the hunt was. Another food source are humans, as we often tread the White Shark's territory. There have been many accounts of tales from the coast of Italy to the ocean shores of Japan, in which a diver goes beyond sight followed by a great shadow. When upon investigating, amateur divers find only oxygen tanks or flippers and torn suits.. Whales are another part of the diet, but this is more of a desperate attempt.

History. The Great White has been an object of curiosity, fascination, and fear for the past centuries. In medieval times, Great Whites were often caught and studied. Usually, the sharks were caught between Greece and the island of Siate. People saw the sheer size of the sharks and their teeth and instantly dismissed this creature as a menace and man eating monster. From this shark, sprung many tales of terrifying ocen monsters.

Ancestry. The Great White Shark, compared to it's ancestor Carcharodon Megalodon, is quite simply a bitch. Megalodon was the most fearsome creature the sea had given birth to. Reaching upwards of 50-60 ft. was the average length of these beasts. Megalodon had ruled the oceans up until 2-3 million years ago. To try and fill this gigantic gap was the Great White Shark. There are still accounts of fishermen facing the "true white death" who were the size of whales and the destroyer of lives. Scientists have not completely discarded that maybe Megalodon has survived as less than 2% of the world's oceans have been studied.

Modern Info. Monetery Bay Aquarium in Cali. is putting a million dollars on the ling to try and hold a Great White in captivity. Research is being conducted and apporiate housing is being built, but most agree that this is not for studying the shark but more of bragging rights.

Last Week's FOTW.
Links.
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Last one, for Great Whites.

Carcharodon Megalodon
Look at the Jaws!
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Last Link.
Innes found this great site.....check it out