Great White Shark Carcharodon carcharias Heavy spindle-shaped body, with a moderately long and pointed snout. Large gill slits. Origin of first dorsal fin over the free ends of the pectoral fins. Minute second dorsal fin. Very large pectorals. Crescentic caudal fin, strong keels on peduncle. Maximum size at least 640cm but most certainly larger (due to jaw imprints on dead whales). Average size between 400cm and 500cm. Weight can vary strongly do to an unproportional increase of girth with size. Animals between 580cm and 640cm weigh more than 2000kg. Western Atlantic: Newfoundland to Florida, Bahamas, Cuba and northern Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina Eastern Atlantic: Southern Great Britain, France to Mediterranean, Senegal, Ghana, Zaire. Western Cape Province, South Africa Western Indian Ocean: South Africa, Seychelles, Red Sea Western Pacific: Siberia, Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand Central Pacific: Marshall Islands, Hawaiian Islands Eastern Pacific: Gulf of Alaska to Gulf of California, Panama to Chile Highly dangerous Unknown Smile you're on the menu Whale Shark Rhiniodon typus An unmistakable, huge shark with a broad, flat head. Truncated snout and very big terminal mouth. Origin of first dorsal fin over the pelvic fins. Second dorsal fin relatively small. Prominent ridges along the sides with the lowermost expanding into the prominent keels on each side of the lunate caudal fin. Prominent subterminal notch. Average size about 10 m to 12 m, maximum total length still unsure but approximately 14 m. Western Atlantic: New York to central Brazil, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal, Mauretania, Cape Verde Islands, Gulf of Guinea. Indo-Western Pacific and Central Pacific: South Africa and Red Sea to Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, Hawaiian Islands. Eastern Pacific: Southern California to northern Chile. Harmless Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch Greyish to dark color with a unique checkerboard pattern of light spots, horizontal and vertical stripes. Bull Shark Carcharhinus leucas Stocky to very heavy-bodied species. Very short and broadly rounded snout. Small, circular eyes. First dorsal fin large and broadly triangular to somewhat falcate. Origin of the first dorsal fin usually over or just behind the insertions of the pectoral fins. No interdorsal ridge. Maximum about 340 cm (females); males reach about 300 cm. Western Atlantic: Massachusetts to southern Brazil. Gulf of Mexico. Caribbean Sea, Bahamas. Eastern Atlantic: Morocco, Senegal to Angola. Western Indian Ocean: South Africa to Kenya, Iraq and India. Western Pacific: Thailand, Viet Nam, Borneo, New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, Rangiroa Atoll, the Philippines. Eastern Pacific: Southern Baja California and Gulf of California to Ecuador. Probably the most dangerous species of tropical waters. Bull sharks are one of the three most dangerous species, beside the white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ) and tiger shark ( Galeocerdo cuvier ). It would not be surprising if the bull shark would turn out to be the most dangerous shark species, because of its large size, massive jaws, proportionately very large teeth and abundance in the tropics. Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch Watch out! Basking Shark Cetorhinus maximus Very long, cylindrically shaped (fusiform) trunk. Very pointed snout, with a large, subterminal mouth. Big eyes. Extremely large gill slits that nearly extend ventrally and dorsally around the head. First dorsal fin large, erect and triangular. Its origin is well behind the free ends of the pectoral fins. Second dorsal fin much smaller than first one. Lunate caudal fin with depressed caudal peduncle and strong lateral keels. Maximum total length about 1200cm, average size between 900cm and 1000cm. Rarely caught under 300cm (smallest animal ever caught was 170cm). Western Atlantic: New Foundland to Florida, southern Brazil and Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: Iceland, Norway, North Sea. Mediterranean. South Africa. Western Pacific: Japan, Korea, China, Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia), Tasmania, New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: Gulf of Alaska to Gulf of California, Ecuador, Peru, Chile. Harmless Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch They have been fished in earlier years due to their large livers and a high content of Vitamin A (which in earlier years could not be synthesize.) Scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini Large, with a broad, narrow-bladed head. Anterior margin of "hammer" is very broadly arched in adults, with a prominent median indentation. Somewhat falcate first dorsal fin with an origin over or behind the insertion of the pectoral fins. Free rear end of second dorsal fin nearly reaches caudal fin. With precaudal pit. Average size between 250cm and 300cm, maximum total length about 370cm to 420cm. Western Atlantic: New Jersey to Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Bahamas. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Zaire. Mediterranean. Indo-Western Pacific: South Africa to Red Sea, Pakistan, India, Maldives, Thailand. Western Pacific: Indonesia, China, Japan, Australia, New Caledonia. Central Pacific: Hawaii, Tahiti. Eastern Pacific: Southern California to Equador. Potentially dangerous. Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch No Comments