Massive shark, very high first dorsal fin, minute second dorsal and anal fins, blue-grey upper body with abrupt change to white on the under surface. Possesses a deservedly fearsome reputation as responsible for more human fatalities than any other shark. Animals smaller than 3 m in length feed mainly on fish, but at larger sizes marine mammals are important in the diet. Protected in all Australian waters.
Information
Max Size: 792 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 10.2-20.5°C
Depth: 0-1280m
Habitat: Coral Reef, Open ocean, Rocky Reef, Seagrass
Rarity
Threats: By-catch, Exploitation
IUCN Threat Status: Vulnerable
Occurrence: Infrequent (5% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution.
It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney
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