EN COLABORACIÓN CON:

PRESENTS
ANATOMY
Known for its body’s 3 - 6.5 40 2,500 MAPA DE DISTRIBUCIÓN
Prefers temperate waters, both coastal and oceanic, and is
AGGREGATION AND
NURSERY AREAS
hydrodynamic shape
meters km/hr kilograms considered an occasional visitor. 1. West coast of Alaska, Canada
and United States.

GREAT WHITE SHARK

resembling a torpedo and an
extendable jaw. The maximum The maximum The maximum 2. Hawaii, U.S.A.
estimated length speed estimated estimated weight
3. West coast of the Baja
California Peninsula,
Guadalupe Island and Gulf
of California, Mexico.

Carcharodon carcharias 1
4. Sebastian Vizcaino Bay.
5. East coast of Canada and United
States.
The Great White Shark, a legendary and efficient predator, can save energy
during long migrations and is known to ambush its prey, some of which are 5 8 9 11 6. West coast of South America.
Water flows through its gills,
fast and agile like sea lions. In Mexico, white shark aggregation and nursery which absorb the oxygen so
2 3
7. East coast of South America.
areas are ideal for research and support local economies through cage diving. that it is transported to the 4
heart in the blood 8. Northern coast of Spain and
It has solid structure at the base France, and Northeast coast of
The dorsal fin acts as a stabilizer. As it of its tail reinforced with Africa.
swims, fibers tighten the fin to avoid cartilage, ligaments and tendons
sudden and unexpected turns. known as the keel. 9. Mediterranean Sea.
6

7 10. Eastern and Southern coasts of

TAXONOMY Oxygen absorption
10
12 13
South Africa.

11. China, Japan and Korea.

-059 SEMARNA occurs in 5 pairs of long
OM and vascularized gills. Some muscles and vital organs are
12. Southern coastline of Australia.
N

protected by heat regulators in its

A
blood, allowing it to see and swim
more efficiently, while helping in 13. New Zealand.
Kingdom: Animalia
digestion.
Phylum: Chordata CALIFORNIA
GULF
Subphylum: Vertebrata AME
It can maintain its body BCN
N A Z A DA temperature up to GUADALUPE

17C
ISLAND
Class: Chondrichthyes

1.8
3 SEBASTIÁN

200 390 34
Subclass: Elasmobranchii Conservation VIZCAÍNO
BAY
Order: Lamniformes status: over that of the 4
Family: Lamnidae
Genus: Carcharodon
• Nom 059 – A
(threatened)
• IUCN – VU
tones
The force of its bite; 20
surrounding water. BAJA CALIFORNIA
PENINSULA BCS
sharks individuals individuals
(vulnerable) Size of the population in recorded as bycatch on sighted in a single day
Species: C. carcharias times greater than that Guadalupe Island the West coast of Baja is the record for
of humans. estimated in 2015. California between Guadalupe Island.
1999 and 2013.

Distribution: In almost all 71 cm width (aprox.)

regions of the ocean,
between 60° North and 60° REPRODUCTION
South. Their fertilization is internal, that is, the male and the female
copulate. The male inserts one of his gonopterygiums into the
female's cloaca and introduces the sperm.
Diet: Fish, sea lions and
whale carcasses.
+60 cm
width MALE FEMALE

Sexual maturity: 26 years

for males and 32 years for
females.

88 rows
with 46 teeth each, which can
5-7 cm
Length of front teeth with 78
Pelvic
fins
Pelvic
fins

be replaced if lost. serrations each. Its big heart is characteristic of a Its intestine resembles The pectoral fins allow it to control

HUNTING SKILLS highly mobile species. a coil with its ascent, descent and turns.

Sharks live in a dense environment, which means even the

smallest vibrations and movements can be transmitted. The
54 rings
White Shark has 6 senses that help it detect its prey: 1 meter 10-25 meters +500 meters 1.5 Kilometers
The caudal fin is half moon shaped,
rigid and flat, making it a highly
18%
of its brain
efficient locomotion structure.
CLASPERS CLOACA
Is for smell sense
(the largest among sharks) Males have two claspers, which are Females have pelvic fins and give
reproductive organs and are located birth through the cloaca.
near the pelvic fins.
LATERAL LINE TASTE ELECTRORECEPTION SIGHT SMELL HEARING
Can detect vibrations caused They can distinguish between It can detect electric Has acute vision, but only Can detect blood from several It can hear noises inaudible to humans
by other species nearby. pleasant and unpleasant tastes. signals from prey. sees in green tones. hundred meters away from several kilometers away.

CONSERVATION TIMELINE THREATS

Bycatch is the main cause of death of
SOURCES:
DOF. 2014. ACUERDO por el que se establece veda
permanente para la pesca de tiburón blanco
(Carcharodon carcharias) en aguas de jurisdicción
white sharks. However, illegal fishing federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.
continues because: Enciclovida. Tiburón blanco, Charcharodon carcharias.
https://enciclovida.mx/especies/28611-carcharodon-c

50,000 1,000
archarias
Galván-Magaña, F. et al. (2019). Shark ecology, the
role of the apex predator and current conservation

1998: El Vizcaino Biosphere 2000: Species is added to the 2002: The Great White Shark 2004: Species is added to the 2005: Guadalupe Island is 2013: SEMARNAT publishes 2014: A permanent ban on 2018: The Conservation
status. Advances in Marine Biology, Volume 83.
https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.amb.2019.08.005

Reserve is established.
IUCN Red List as Vulnerable.
is included in the NOM-059-ECOL-
2001 under the Threatened category.
Appendix II of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES).
declared a Biosphere Reserve on
April 25.
Isla Guadalupe Biosphere Reserve’s
management program.
fishing for the great White Shark in
Mexico is established.
dollars dollars
Action Plan for the Great White Shark Hoyos-Padilla, E. M. 2017. El gran tiburón blanco:
protector de los océanos. Publicación especial #3,
is published. Alianza WWF-Fundación Telmex Telcel. 120 pp.
The price of a complete and The price a set of dorsal and SEMARNAT. 2018. Programa de Acción para la
well-preserved great white shark two pectoral fins can fetch. Conservación de la Especie Tiburón Blanco
THEY ARE DISPLAYED ILLEGAL TRADE jaw in the black market.
(Carcharodon carcharias), SEMARNAT/CONANP, México
(Año de edición 2018).
AS TROPHIES OF ITS PARTS