Perhaps the mako can serve as a kind of standard for a predatory shark. This fearless and dexterous inhabitant open sea often enters the coastal zone, which, coupled with its great gluttony, makes it very dangerous for humans.
The streamlined, spindle-shaped body of the lightning shark, reminiscent of a torpedo, allows it to reach a speed of at least 40 km/h (according to various sources, up to 60 or 90 km/h).
Mako test drive - 80 km/h:
What does a mako shark look like?
The silhouette is slightly flattened on both sides and is distinguished by a high dorsal fin, a symmetrical crescent-shaped "tail" and a pointed conical head. The color is almost white on the belly and grayish blue or dark blue on the back.
The entire body shape is ideally suited for high speed movement. It is the mako that is of all types of sharks. This unsurpassed swimmer is capable of making high jumps up to 6 meters in height!
The mako shark (Latin name – Isurus oxyrinchus) belongs to the blue-gray sharks belonging to the herring family.
There are several different classifications. According to one, in addition to the mako itself, the genus Isurus includes two more species - I. paucus (long-finned or long-finned mako) and I. glaucus, which is distributed mainly in the Indo-Pacific region.
The only difference is that the long-winged mako lives mainly in the coastal zone and is unlikely to be able to accelerate to the same speed as its faster short-finned relatives.
Watch video - Mako Shark:
The main food for the mako shark are medium and large schooling fish. These are, first of all, herring, sardines, mackerel, mackerel, and tuna. Among the common ones in different regions The names of the predator are mackerel shark and sharpnose herring shark, which clearly indicates its taste preferences.
Mako is also called by other names - blue pointer, blue dolphin, gray-blue shark, lightning shark. In addition to the species listed above, the diet also includes squid and octopus, fast-moving (and very dangerous) swordfish, other sharks, and not very large marine mammals.
The harsh nature of the mako shark and the danger to humans
As already mentioned, mako also attacks humans. Moreover, the behavior of this swift predator is sometimes completely frantic. Thus, numerous cases of violent people have been recorded, as well as people standing right on the shore or pier, etc.
This shark is capable of jumping out of the water, grabbing a person sitting in a boat and dragging him under the water.
However, it is worth admitting that the mako shark has something to take revenge on people for. This fish, which does not have any serious commercial significance, is at the same time one of the favorite objects.
The indomitable nature of the lightning shark means that after swallowing a hook with bait, a very long and difficult struggle follows.
The mako shark makes constant jumps, loosens and then sharply tightens the fishing line, moves in zigzags, can meet the fisherman halfway and even rush at him right out of the water.
Watch video - Mako jumps out of the water:
In general, victory over such a strong and fearless opponent is quite highly valued among sports fishing enthusiasts.
By the way, a kind of record belonged to the famous writer Hemingway. It was he who managed to pull out the largest mako shark at that time, weighing about 350 kg.
In general, these predators reach a length of about 4 meters. Moreover, their weight can exceed 450 kg.
Peculiarities of reproduction of the lightning predator
The female mako becomes sexually mature at a height of about 2.8 meters, the male - a little less than two meters. The offspring are carried for 15 months. Future mother lays eggs, which then develop inside her body.
The hatched babies feed first on the yolk substance around them, and then on the yolk.
So, unborn baby sharks begin to get used to the harsh struggle for survival already in the mother’s womb. A litter usually contains about ten young sharks, about 70 cm long, fully prepared for the cruel ocean life.
Mako shark in traditions and beliefs
At the same time, the natives sometimes use special methods so as not to damage the most important parts of the predator’s body from their point of view.
Thus, the curved front teeth of the mako, which go to the . In order to catch them, daredevils catch sharks in special loops.
If you use a traditional hook with bait, then there is a high probability that the precious teeth will simply break.
More civilized peoples practically do not conduct commercial mako fishing. Although it is quite edible and even quite tasty.
At the same time, they are often caught on longlines intended for tuna fishing. So these swift hunters still have some accompanying commercial significance.
At the same time, the damage they cause to industrial fishing is sometimes quite significant. Sometimes fishermen lose up to a fifth of their tuna catch, which is eaten by mako sharks right on the longlines.
At the same time, these predators are an important part of ocean ecosystems, maintaining the numbers of certain species of fish, eating sick and wounded individuals, etc.
Niramin - Oct 6th, 2015
One of the most bloodthirsty and dangerous predators in the water for humans is the mako shark. It is believed that these fish descended from Isurus hastilus, the oldest inhabitants of the seas and oceans of the Cretaceous period, reaching 6 m in length and weighing up to 3 tons. Nowadays makos are smaller in size, but this does not make them any less scary. The body of sharks reaches 4 m, and the weight [...]
One of the most bloodthirsty and dangerous predators in the water for humans is the mako shark.
It is believed that these fish descended from Isurus hastilus, the oldest inhabitants of the seas and oceans of the Cretaceous period, reaching 6 m in length and weighing up to 3 tons. Nowadays makos are smaller in size, but this does not make them any less scary. The body of sharks reaches 4 m, and the weight is up to 0.5 tons, spindle-shaped, streamlined, with a dark blue back and a white belly. Thanks to strong muscles, developed circulatory system and the perfect body structure of the mako can reach enormous speeds under water up to 70 km/h, as well as make incredible jumps out of the water up to 6 m. But spending a lot of energy, this shark constantly wants to eat, again and again, so it attacks everything. whatever gets in her way, which brought her fame as one of the most dangerous predators of deep waters.
The mako shark lives in the southern latitudes of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, preferring space and depth, so meeting a person is unlikely and that is why it is in 4th place in terms of danger to people. But individuals swimming in warm seas, approaching the shore, attack people in 100% of cases and even attack small fishing boats.
The mako shark feeds mainly big fish, turtles, squids and even attacks dolphins. The structure of the jaws, sharp triangular teeth curved inward, and a row of teeth along the lower jaw turned outward allow them to cope with bones and large flesh without any problems. Thanks to its excellent sense of smell, the shark senses its prey far away, which helps it hunt in the wide expanses of the oceans. According to some reports, these predators love to feast on swordfish, with which they have a real war. But due to its bloodthirsty nature, makos have no particularly dangerous enemies.
Mako sharks reproduce by ovoviviparity, reaching sexual maturity and size - females are 2.5 m, males are about 2 m. Carrying offspring for 15 months (embryos feed on yolk and unfertilized eggs), the shark gives birth to up to 20 live sharks, which are cared for from the first days about ourselves.
Although the mako shark is very dangerous for humans, it is commercial fish, its meat is very tasty, and its liver is considered a delicacy.
We bring to your attention a gallery of photos of a mako shark:
Photo: Mako shark on a hook. 
Video: Mako shark attacking a PelagicView dredge
Video: BIG MAKO SHARKS – YouFishTV
Video: Mako Shark attacks boat.mp4
The mako shark belongs to the herring shark family. This is a large, fast, predatory fish. It lives in almost all waters of the World Ocean, where the water temperature is above 16 degrees Celsius. It is moderate and tropical climate, which is formed warm currents. It is to them that the formidable predator gives preference. It can be found in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Argentina, in African and Australian waters.
The fish tries not to dive deeper than 150 meters, and does not gravitate towards the coast, but prefers the open ocean. Prone to migrate over many thousands of kilometers. Swims about 60-80 km a day. In water it reaches a speed of 60 km/h. But this is the recorded result. Some experts believe that this species can swim at a speed of 80-100 km/h. Jumps out of the water to a height of 6 meters. Other species of sharks cannot boast of such indicators.
Regular length of this monster depths of the sea is 3.2 meters with a weight of 260-280 kg. But often the length reaches 4 meters with a weight of 450-520 kg. Such dimensions are characteristic of females, since they are larger than males. The longest specimen was caught off the southern coast of France in 1973. The fish weighed a ton with a body length of 4.45 meters. Talk about more large copies do not have any evidentiary basis.
The body of the predator has a cylindrical shape. The skin is dark blue on top and the belly is white. Moreover, the older the shark, the darker its color. The muzzle is elongated and pointed. The lower part of the muzzle has White color. Young fish have a well-defined black spot at the end of the snout. It disappears with age. The eyes are large, the pectoral fins are medium in size. The anterior dorsal fin is large, the posterior one is small. The caudal fin is shaped like a crescent. The upper and lower lobes are approximately the same. The teeth are sharp and curved. They are even visible when the mouth of a predatory fish is closed.
Reproduction
The mako shark is classified as a viviparous fish. Females reach sexual maturity at a body length of 2.7 meters. For males, the corresponding figure is 1.9 meters. Pregnancy lasts 15 months. Embryos feed on unfertilized eggs in the uterus. From 4 to 18 fry are born. That is, this species is viviparous. The length of one baby shark usually reaches 70 cm. It takes 1.5 years, sometimes 2 years, until the next mating.
Behavior and nutrition
The predator mainly feeds on large fish. These are tuna, mackerel, swordfish. The latter reaches a length of 3 meters and weighs 600 kg. That is, in terms of its dimensions it is in no way inferior dangerous predator. Therefore, he enters into confrontation with him. But it is almost impossible to defeat the mako. The toothy fish has enormous strength and energy.
The powerful predator usually attacks from below and bites near the caudal fin. The main joints and the last vertebrae are located in this place of the body. Therefore, the bite paralyzes the victim, and she becomes helpless. Dolphins and other types of sharks are also prey. But about 70% of all food is tuna. But this is one of the most fast fish, developing a speed of 70 km/h. However, the mako shark catches up with her, which once again indicates the excellent speed of the mighty predator.
Relationship with a person
Since the toothy monster prefers the open ocean, its attacks on people in the coastal zone are extremely rare. Over the past 30 years, 42 attacks have been recorded, 8 of which were fatal. That's just over one attack per year worldwide. There were also 20 attacks on fishing boats. But in these cases, it was the fishermen themselves who provoked the aggression. They tried to catch a predatory fish and inflicted wounds on it. The result was a backlash. Due to its biological structure, humans are of no interest to this species. He is very bony, and fish need fat and meat.
In captivity, the predator lives no more than 5 days and then dies. He eats nothing, quickly weakens and dies. First of all, he needs ocean space and freedom, where he can show all his strength and energy. This species is listed to protect migratory sharks. But the population size does not yet cause concern among experts, as it remains at a stable level.
This is a fairly large shark, part of the Herring family. Otherwise it is called bonito, blacknose, mackerel, and also gray-blue shark. Scientists believe that she is a descendant of the ancient species Isurus hastilus, representatives of which reached six meters in length and weighed about three tons. This type of shark existed in Cretaceous period simultaneously with plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs.
These predators are found in almost all waters of temperate and tropical seas. They never stay in one place, crossing oceans literally “length and breadth.” Through traditional tagging, scientists have discovered that makos can comfortably travel distances ranging from 500 to 4,000 km.
Mako is considered dangerous to humans, as it is one of the most aggressive shark species. She does not miss almost any prey and attacks even when she is full. The jaws of the mako shark are a deadly weapon, and the fish itself develops enormous speed, therefore it is considered one of the most dangerous sea predators.
This ferocious predator takes an “honorable” place in the list of the most dangerous sharks for a person. At the same time, she could easily become a leader, but nature took care to place her in open waters, where the likelihood of meeting people is very low. As if wanting to correct this oversight, one of the mako sharks swam into the North Sea in 2003. In just 3 months, she managed to attack 15 people (at least), and then calmly swam away into open waters.
There are also numerous cases of mako sharks attacking people in boats or even on the shore. So, in 1956, a rather interesting incident occurred near Puerto Rico. One local fisherman managed to harpoon a mako, but she broke free, turned around and attacked her attacker. The predator jumped straight onto the shore and was already there trying to grab the man.
And this is far from the only recorded case of such mako behavior. It is known that it costs nothing for this shark to suddenly jump out of the water and grab a person standing on the edge of a boat in order to drag him under the water. However, for the sake of fairness, it is worth noting that the predator is sometimes forced to act this way: it is considered an excellent object for sport fishing.
Fans of this type of fishing especially appreciate the mako for its incomparable ability to resist being caught. After swallowing the hook, she makes incredible leaps 6 meters high, loosens and tightens the fishing line again, and then suddenly moves towards the fisherman and tries to make him her prey. Victory over such a strong opponent is especially appreciated. By the way, the most big shark Hemingway once caught a mako: his fish weighed 357 kg.
But this is far from the limit for makos: the average body length of females is 3.8 m and weighs 570 kg. Males are slightly smaller: their weight is 60-135 kg, and their size rarely exceeds 3.2 m. The largest representative of the species with a body length of 4.45 m was caught off the coast of France in 1973. However, scientists are in no hurry to give it the palm, because back in the late 50s, a mako kuda shark was caught off the coast of Turkey large sizes: judging by the photograph, its length was 5.85 m.
The mako's silhouette is slightly flattened on both sides and is distinguished by a high dorsal fin, a symmetrical crescent-shaped "tail" and a pointed conical head. The color is almost white on the belly and grayish blue or dark blue on the back.
The entire body shape is ideally suited for high speed movement. The mako is the fastest of all shark species. This unsurpassed swimmer is capable of making high jumps up to 6 meters in height!
The main food for the mako shark are medium and large schooling fish. These are, first of all, herring, sardines, mackerel, mackerel, and tuna. Common names for predators in different regions include mackerel shark and sharpnose herring shark, which clearly indicates its taste preferences. In addition to the species listed above, the diet also includes squid and octopus, fast-moving (and very dangerous) swordfish, other sharks, turtles and not very large ones.
Mako sharks reproduce by ovoviviparity. Embryos feed on yolk and unfertilized eggs (intrauterine oophagy). In a litter there are from 4 to 30 (on average from 10 to 18) newborns with a length of about 70 cm. The number of litters directly correlates with the size of the mother. The male to female ratio of sharks caught in shark nets off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal varies seasonally from 0.6:1 to 2.5:1. In general, males predominate all year round except for the period from January to April. Among the 171 sharks caught, the male to female ratio was 1.4:1.
In both hemispheres, childbirth mostly occurs with late winter until mid-summer. Births are estimated to be occurring off the KwaZulu-Natal coast late spring(late November), and mating occurs in the fall (from March to June). The duration of pregnancy is about 15-18 months. It is believed that the female does not become fertilized for 18 months after the birth of small cubs, after which she again produces an egg and waits for mating. In adult males, seasonal fluctuations in the gonadosomatic index (the ratio of gonad mass to body weight), it is higher in winter than in summer. In adult females, the gonadosomatic index positively correlates with the hepatosomatic index (the ratio of liver weight to body weight): in individuals with large ovaries, the liver size is larger.
A 2006 study overturned previous inaccurate reports about the age and size of mature mako sharks found in the North Atlantic. According to this study, the maximum life expectancy was recorded for a male with a length of 2.60 m - 29 years and for a female with a length of 3.35 m - 32 years. 50% of males reach sexual maturity at the age of 8 years with a length of 1.85 m, and 50% of females reach sexual maturity at the age of 18 years with a length of 2.75 m. A study conducted in 2009 confirmed these data.
The evolutionary relationships of the mako shark and other living and extinct species of herring sharks remain largely unclear. The ancestor of this group was probably Isurolamna inflata, which lived approximately 65-55 million years ago and had small, narrow teeth with smooth edges and two lateral denticles. In this family, there was a tendency for the teeth to become larger during evolution, as well as for their serration and increase in their relative width, which marks the transition from the grasping function of the teeth to the cutting and tearing function. Contrary to this trend, the mako shark's teeth are not serrated.
In 2012, researchers from the University of Florida published a description of the fossil's jaws and teeth. Carcharodon sharks hubbelliruen. This species is considered a transitional form between mako sharks and white sharks. These fossils were discovered back in 1988 in the Pisco Formation in Peru and are estimated to be about 6.5 million years old.
Until now, no method has been developed to keep and breed mako sharks in captivity. Of all the pelagic shark species that have been attempted to be kept in captivity, mako sharks have the worst prospects, even compared to the greattip, blue and white sharks, which are also very difficult to keep in captivity. The shark of this species lived the longest (5 days) in an aquarium in New Jersey. In this case, as in previous attempts, the animal entered the aquarium at good condition, but soon began to beat against the walls, refused food, quickly weakened and died.
There is no deliberate catching of this fish; sometimes it itself gets caught in the net while chasing prey. However, you can note the delicious mako meat. This shark, like all types of herring, is suitable for food. But some are of particular value internal organs and fins. The liver of this predator is a delicacy.
The worst tragedy involving a mako shark, a photo of which can be seen in this article, occurred near the Australian coast in the middle of the 20th century. Four fishermen were fishing peacefully in a large boat. Suddenly they were attacked by a flock of makos. People tried to swim to the shore, but one predator rammed right through the side of the boat and the fishermen ended up in the water. Only one was able to safely get to land; the rest were torn to pieces and eaten by bloodthirsty makos.
Mako play a significant role in mythology and Everyday life tribes of Oceania. The very name of these predators comes from the language of the inhabitants of New Zealand, Maori. In one of the local dialects, the word "mako" means any shark at all. In other Polynesian languages, the same name sounds quite similar - mango, mao, etc. Therefore, sometimes it can be quite difficult to understand whether we are talking about makos or sharks in general.
However, certain information simply cannot apply to other species. For example, on some islands, unique sacrifices are accepted. The fisherman must give part of his catch to the sharks. If he does not do this, then the predators will definitely take revenge later. At the same time, even the few white people in those parts witnessed cases of angry beasts attacking pirogues, “taking off” the natives right from the side. This behavior is most characteristic of makos.
At the same time, it cannot be said that these sharks cause sacred horror among the Polynesians. Some tribes hunt them quite successfully. At the same time, the natives sometimes use special methods so as not to damage the most important parts of the predator’s body from their point of view.
Thus, the curved front teeth of the mako are considered especially valuable, which are used to make jewelry. In order to catch them, daredevils catch sharks in special loops. If you use a traditional hook with bait, then there is a high probability that the precious teeth will simply break.
3.1 Vulnerable : Isurus oxyrinchus
The shark's diet is based mainly on bony fish; the menu includes mackerel, tuna, swordfish, as well as other sharks, porpoises and sea turtles.
Female sharks usually reach sexual maturity when they are 3 m long. The developing embryos feed on unfertilized eggs in the uterus during pregnancy (15-18 months). 4-18 surviving baby sharks are born at the end of winter or in early spring, reaching a length of about 70 cm. It is believed that the female is not fertilized for 18 months after the appearance of small sharks, after which she again produces an egg and waits for mating.
Makos are quite common, mainly in tropical and temperate coastal waters. They prefer not too deep waters, preferring to swim close to the surface or at a depth of no more than 150 m. They also like warm waters, rarely swimming in places where the water is colder than 16 degrees Celsius.
Mako is found all over the world. In the western Atlantic, it can be found near Argentina and in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as near Nova Scotia. In Canadian waters, these sharks are not too common, but also not too rare, the fact is that the water here is cool enough for them. In waters where swordfish are found, there will almost always be a mako shark, since swordfish represent their main source of food, and their living conditions are very similar.
Notes
Categories:
- Animals in alphabetical order
- Vulnerable species
- Lamniformes
- Animals described in 1810
- Fishes of the Indo-Pacific
- Fishes of the Atlantic Ocean
- Game fish
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Mako shark Scientific classification Kingdom: Animals ... Wikipedia
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