Mako Shark By: Stephanie McGee

The Mako Shark The Common name: Shortfin Mako The Scientific Name: Isurus Paucus

Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genius, and species Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Chondrichthyes Order: Lamniformes Family: Lamnidae Genus: Isurus Species: I. paucus

Size of the Mako Shark It appears to be the larger of the two Mako species, with a average adult length of 12.3 ft and mass of 756 lb. The maximum known size is 14 ft. This one was caught off of Catalina on September 30. It is 13 ft. and weighting 1,175 pounds.

Where does the Mako Shark Live? The Shortfin Mako shark is an oceanic, temperate and tropical shark. It is very common and has been sighted in the Western Atlantic, the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Indo-West Pacific, the Central Pacific and the Eastern Pacific. It likes both tropical and warm temperate waters, but is rarely seen where the water temperature is less than 16°C.

Where does a Mako Shark live?

What does the Mako Shark Eat? Makos eat schooling fish, including tuna, herring, mackerel, swordfish, and porpoise. They are opportunistic feeders, eating just about anything. The Mako Shark do not always kill their prey immediately, but the Mako Shark bite the tail of the prey so it cannot flee and the prey will also bleed to death because of the wound.

What does the Mako Shark Eat?

Facts about the Mako Shark…….. Mako sharks are the fastest swimming sharks and can even leap out of the water. They are also probably among the fastest fish. Estimates of their speed varies; some say that they can swim at about 60 miles per hour, while more conservative estimates are about 22 mph. There hasn't been enough experimentation on their speeds to have an definitive answer. The Mako's teeth are long, thin, and sharp. This enables the shark to catch slippery fish, the mainstay of its diet. Sharks teeth are located in rows which rotate into use as needed. The first two rows are used in obtaining prey, the other rows rotate into place as they are needed. As teeth are lost, broken, or worn down, they are replaced by new teeth that rotate into place.

Human Impact on Mako Sharks Both the Long Fin and the Short Fin Mako Sharks species are classed as vulnerable . That means they are likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening their survival and reproduction doe not improve.