Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)
Created | Updated Feb 19, 2007
The Great White Shark is an incredible predator. It is the Largest Predatory fish and grows to lengths of up to 6 meters and can weigh as much as 1,800 kilograms (2 tons). Their keen senses make them an efficient killer. Great whites have an acute sense of smell where they can sense 1 part blood in about 1000 parts water. They have a "Sixth sense" in which they can sense the tiny electrical signals of animals that travel through the brain and spinal cord of creatures in the water. Their skin is rough as sandpaper and can cut fish as the shark passes by. The Great White has seven rows of razor shark teeth, altogether, that is several hundred, the teeth Break off often and are replaced by the teeth in the row behind, the teeth are also retractable and move into place as the jaw is opened. The Great White is the only creature in its genus, its relative, the Megaladon, is an extinct shark that is estimated at lengths of up to 18 meters (by its teeth). Great White sharks are incredibly mysterious. No one has ever witnessed a birth, and reports of baby Sharks are few and far between. Life span is also unknown but it is estimated at about 25 to 30 years. Usually Great whites do not attack humans on purpose, most attacks are test bites by sharks to recognize the creature, much like a dog sniffs a stranger impolitely. Other attacks are because of a mistaken identity, from the bottom, a paddling surfer looks much like a seal (one of the great white's target prey). Humans aren't good for the Great white to eat because their digestive system is too slow to cope with the human body's high ratio of bone to muscle and fat.
