One of the 2 mackerel sharks on WAnimals
Cartilaginous fish · Lamniformes · Lamnidae
Shortfin Mako
Isurus oxyrinchus
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
It is the fastest shark in the world, capable of bursts of up to 74 km/h and of leaping 6 metres clear of the water after prey, thanks to its regional endothermy.
Weight
60 kg – 150 kg
Size
3.2 m – 4.5 m
Lifespan
30 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Irregular activity
Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- locomociónIt is one of the fastest sharks known, able to hit peaks of over 70 km/h thanks to an extremely streamlined body.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - cartilaginous skeleton (chondrichthyan fish)
- Habitat & environment
- Temperate and tropical oceanic and coastal waters worldwide, from the surface down to 500-740 m
- Birth weight
- 60 - 80 cm long at birth
- Size at birth
- 60 - 80 cm long at birth
- Sexual maturity
- Male: ~8-9 years | Female: 18-21 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 15-18 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 4 to 25 young per litter (10-18 most often), breeding every 3 years
Sources consulted: A-Z Animals; ResearchGate (New Zealand age growth maturity study); Shark Research Institute; Save Our Seas Foundation; Animal Diversity Web; FishBase; PMC (Western Central Atlantic age growth study)
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: Summer and early autumn in temperate waters, when it comes onto the continental shelf following the shoals of fish.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 20 de 103 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Shortfin Mako — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Porbeagle
Lamna nasus
VulnerableGreat White Shark
Carcharodon carcharias
EndangeredWhale Shark
Rhincodon typus
EndangeredBlue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus
EndangeredFin Whale
Balaenoptera physalus
EndangeredNorth Atlantic Right Whale
Eubalaena glacialis
How to help
The shortfin mako is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 13 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about shortfin mako.
Comments
Share an experience, a fun fact or a tip for seeing the shortfin mako.
Be the first to comment.