The world's largest hammerhead shark. The biggest sharks ever caught (10 photos). place is taken by Lisa

What fisherman does not dream of catching a big fish. Some hunt for a large "beast" in order to claim records, others just want to show off their catch among familiar fishermen. But whatever the goal, not everyone manages to get such a trophy in the collection.

The larger the fish, the more difficult it is to catch it, and standard gear is no longer enough here. An “oak” rod and a fishing line that can withstand maximum loads give at least some chance that the fish will not swim past, waving their tail after them. One of the most desired trophies for many fishermen is the catfish, the largest freshwater fish. Those who live close to the ocean choose more serious prey for themselves and hunt or accidentally catch its main predators - sharks. We managed to find 10 of the largest sharks that have only come across "hooked".

Shark weight: unknown

In 1945, during a planned fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, 6 fishermen accidentally caught the most dangerous shark species for humans - the white shark. The length of the carcharodon was 6.4 meters. In honor of the village where they were from, the fishermen named the trophy "monster from Kojimar".

Shark weight: 807 kg.

Walter Maxwell wrote his name in history as a fisherman who was lucky enough to catch one of the biggest tiger sharks. Off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1964, his prey was an 807-pound tiger shark. Nobody could beat his record for 40 years.

Shark weight: 810 kg.

At the moment, the absolute current record for the largest tiger shark ever caught by weight belongs to Kevin James Clapson. Off the coast of Ulladulla, Australia, in March 2004, a fisherman caught a tiger shark weighing 810 kg.

Shark weight: unknown

In 1983, a great white shark was caught in the net of fisherman David Mackendrick near Prince Edward Island. A female 6.1 meters long landed on the net. The shark was included in the top of the largest sharks, which were measured by the specialists of the Shark Research Center of Canada.

Shark weight: 907 kg.

In 2012, after another fishing trip, a Mexican fisherman returned as a local hero. His main catch, for which he went to the Sea of ​​Cortez, was a 907-pound great white shark. The length of the shark was 6 meters.

Shark weight: 1208 kg.

One of the largest sharks caught by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies was a shark caught by Alf Dean. On the coast of the Australian Sidun in 1959, a fisherman caught a 5-meter shark weighing 1208 kg.

Shark weight: 1520 kg.

Shark hunter fame in 1992 went to Dion Gilmour. Off the coast of South Australia, he pulled a shark weighing 1520 kg from the ocean. and 5.2 meters long.

Shark weight: 1750 kg.

Through the efforts of 10 fishermen in 2012, a great white shark weighing 1750 kg was caught in Taiwan. and 6 meters long. The inhabitant of the underwater depths turned out to be so heavy that the fishermen dragged him on board the ship for an hour.

Shark weight: 2041 kg.

To catch a great white shark in 1964, among other things, Frank Mandus needed five harpoons. After 5 hours of confrontation, the shark still gave up. The weight of the prey was 2041 kg.

Shark weight: 2306 kg.

In 1970, the largest shark in history was caught off Phillip Island. The weight of the shark, 6.2 meters long, was 2306 kg. Although this is considered an absolute record, many question it, because before the shark was caught, it managed to eat heavily with a seal, the remains of which were found in its stomach.

Sharks are very ancient and widespread representatives of the marine fauna (526 species). These cartilaginous fish with a torpedo-shaped body appeared more than 400 million years ago. With a few exceptions, they are true predators and live in sea water. However, the 3 largest sharks in the world - largemouth, giant and whale - feed on plankton and other small things.

The shark lives in the seas and belongs to the predatory fish species.

Order of cartilaginous fish

The skeleton of sharks has no bones and consists of connective tissue, which is why they are called cartilaginous fish. The skin is covered with scales, consisting of small teeth, and resembles sandpaper. Caudal fins are located vertically, depending on the habitat, they can have a different shape. The jaws are equipped with conical teeth that constantly grow and are replaced if necessary.

If there is a violation of the connections between the central nervous system and the muscles, they are able to function offline.

Low metabolism and the primitive structure of the body have led to the fact that sharks cannot withstand prolonged stress, due to which they can die. They breathe with the help of gills, constantly passing water through special slots. These fish do not have a swim bladder, and the ability to swim perfectly is ensured by a very large liver.

A well-developed sense of smell helps to find prey and mating partners. One of the largest sharks in the world, the hammerhead shark, is especially good at distinguishing smells. She can smell blood at a concentration of one in a million.

The bearing of offspring in cartilaginous fish occurs in utero. In viviparous species, the cub is born fully formed and ready for independent life. Pregnancy lasts from several months to 2 years.

The longest shark in the world - whale, it reaches 20 meters, and the smallest is the dwarf prickly, which grows a little more than 25 centimeters. The average speed of movement is 8 km / h, but when accelerating it can reach 20 and even 50 km / h.

largest view

The largest shark in the world was called the whale shark due to its size. The average length of this monster is 12 meters, and the maximum is 18-20 m. It weighs about 12 tons, but there are cases of catching twenty-ton specimens.

The whale shark is the longest shark in the world

The habitat of the whale shark is the tropical latitudes of the oceans. It swims slowly (5 km / h) and does not sink to depth. It is not a real predator and is safe for humans. It feeds on plankton, small fish and shrimps, filtering food from the water passed through a special apparatus.

Usually you can find small groups of sharks, consisting of several individuals. In regions with a lot of food, fish can huddle in large flocks. In search of plankton, they make long-distance migrations.

To date, this unique species has been little studied. It is not known exactly what the largest shark in the world leads a lifestyle. The peculiarity of reproduction and the size of the population also remains a mystery. In 2016, the largest fish in existence was declared an endangered species, so most countries introduced a ban on its catch.

You can see what the largest shark in the world looks like by visiting the Japanese aquarium Churaumi, located on the island of Okinawa. It contains a 7-meter male - the largest specimen living in captivity.

Top 10 Giant Sharks

Sharks are quite diverse, many of them reach large sizes. The ranking contains the largest cartilaginous fish on planet Earth.

Top 10:

Popular misconceptions and myths

The image of a ruthless killer machine, scouring the expanses of the ocean in search of the smell of blood, is firmly entrenched behind the shark. She hunts down lone swimmers and surfers, ready to enjoy human meat with pleasure. Fiction is responsible for creating such fame, including films that have given rise to common misconceptions:

The frightening halo of notoriety around sharks is just a fantasy that has little to do with reality. Even the largest representative does not pose the slightest danger to humans. But the uncontrolled catch of these fish by people can lead to the extinction of species.

The shark belongs to the type chordates, the class cartilaginous fishes, the superorder sharks ( Selacii). The origin of the Russian word "shark" originates from the language of the ancient Vikings, who called the word "hakall" any fish. In the 18th century in Rus', dangerous waterfowl predators began to be called this way, and initially the word sounded like “sharks”. Most sharks live in salt water, but some species also live in fresh water.

Shark: description and photo. What does a shark look like?

Due to species diversity, the length of sharks varies greatly: small bottom sharks barely reach 20 cm, and the whale shark grows up to 20 meters and has a weight of 34 tons (the mass of an average sperm whale). The shark skeleton has no bones and consists only of cartilage. The streamlined body is covered with scales with pronounced relief protrusions, the strength of which is not inferior to the teeth, in connection with which the shark scales are called "skin teeth".

The respiratory organ of the shark is the gill slits located in front of the pectoral fins.

The shark's heart maintains too low blood pressure, so to stimulate blood flow, the fish must be in motion as often as possible, helping the heart with continuous muscle contractions. Although some species of sharks feel great lying on the bottom and pumping water through their gills.

The shark lacks the swim bladder that all bony fish have.

Therefore, the buoyancy of the shark is provided by a giant liver, which is almost a third of the body weight of a predatory fish, a low density of cartilage and fins.

The shark's stomach is very elastic, so it can hold a large amount of food.

To digest food, the concentration of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice is not enough, and then the sharks turn the stomach inside out, freeing it from undigested excess, and interestingly, the stomach does not suffer at all from numerous sharp teeth.

Sharks have excellent vision, exceeding the sharpness of a human by 10 times.

Hearing is represented by the inner ear and picks up low frequencies and infrasounds, and also provides predatory fish with the function of balance.

Sharks have a rare sense of smell and can smell the smells coming through the air and water.

Predators catch the smell of blood in a ratio of 1 to a million, which is comparable to a teaspoon diluted in a swimming pool.

The speed of the shark, as a rule, does not exceed 5 - 8 km / h, although, having sensed the prey, the predator can accelerate to almost 20 km / h. Warm-blooded species - the white shark and the mako shark cut through the water column at speeds up to 50 km / h.

The average life expectancy of a shark is no more than 30 years, but sandy quatrains, whale and polar sharks can live more than 100 years.

The structure of the jaw of a predator depends on the lifestyle and food consumed. Shark teeth are long, sharp, in the shape of a cone, with which she easily rips the flesh of the victim.

Representatives of the gray shark family are endowed with flat and sharp teeth, which allows them to tear apart the meat of large prey.

tiger shark teeth

The whale shark, whose main diet is plankton, has small teeth up to 5 mm long, although their number can reach several thousand.

Horned sharks, feeding mainly on bottom food, have front sharp small teeth and a rear row of large crushing teeth. As a result of grinding or falling out, the teeth of a predatory fish are replaced by new ones growing from the inside of the mouth.

How many teeth does a shark have?

Crested sharks have 6 rows of teeth on the lower and 4 rows on the upper jaws with a total of 180-220 teeth. In the mouths of white and tiger sharks there are 280-300 teeth, which are arranged in 5-6 rows on each jaw. The frilled shark has 20-28 dentitions per jaw, with a total of 300-400 teeth. The whale shark has 14,000 teeth in its mouth.

The size of shark teeth also varies from species to species. For example, the size of the teeth of a white shark is 5 cm. The length of the teeth of sharks that feed on plankton is only 5 mm.

white shark teeth

Where do sharks live?

Sharks live in the waters of the entire oceans, that is, in all seas and oceans. The main distribution falls on the equatorial and near-equatorial waters of the seas, near coastal waters, especially in reef buildings.

It is worth noting that some species of sharks, such as the common gray shark and the blunt shark, are able to live in both salt and fresh water, swimming in rivers. The depth of the habitat of sharks is on average 2000 meters, in rare cases they go down to 3000 meters.

What does a shark eat?

Shark food is quite diverse and depends on the specific species and range. Most of the species prefer marine fish. Deep sea sharks eat crabs and other crustaceans.

The white shark preys on eared seals, elephant seals and cetacean mammals, the tiger shark swallows everything. And only 3 species - largemouth, whale and gigantic sharks eat plankton, cephalopods and small fish.

Shark species, names and photos

The modern classification of these ancient fish that existed hundreds of millions of years ago distinguishes 8 main orders, forming about 450 species of sharks:

Karchariformes (gray, carcharid) sharks(Carcharhiniformes)

This order unites 48 genera and 260 species. The following species are considered typical representatives of the detachment:

• Giant hammerhead shark(Sphyrna mokarran )

It lives in the waters of the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. The maximum recorded length of the hammerhead shark is 6.1 m. The leading edge of the "hammer" is almost straight, which distinguishes them from other hammerhead sharks. The high dorsal fin is sickle-shaped.

• silk (Florida, widemouth) shark(Carcharhinus falciformis)

Lives in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, is found in the equatorial and adjacent latitudes of the oceans.

The broadmouth shark is characterized by a rather dark color on the back of various shades of gray, blue, brown-brown with a slight metallic sheen. Colors fade with age. The scales that cover the skin of a shark are so small that they create the effect of their complete absence. In length, the silk (Florida) shark reaches 2.5-3.5 meters. The maximum recorded weight is 346 kilograms.

• Tiger (leopard) shark ( Galeocerdo cuvier)

It lives off the coast of Japan, New Zealand, USA, Africa, India, Australia. The tiger shark is considered one of the most widespread species of sharks on Earth.

These large predators reach a length of 5.5 meters. The color of the leopard shark is gray, the belly is white or light yellow. Until the shark reaches two meters in length, transverse stripes similar to tiger ones are visible on its sides. That's where its name came from. These stripes camouflage predatory fish from their larger relatives. The stripes fade with age.

• bull sharkor gray bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

The most aggressive species of sharks, common in tropical and subtropical oceans, this predatory fish can often be found in rivers and canals.

These huge fish have a spindle-shaped oblong body characteristic of gray sharks, the snout is short, massive and blunt. The surface of the body of the blunt-nosed shark is painted gray, the belly is white. The maximum recorded body length is 4 meters.

• blue shark or blue shark (big shark or great blue shark) (Prionace glauca )

It is one of the most common sharks on earth. The habitat of the blue shark is quite wide: it is found everywhere in the temperate and tropical waters of the oceans. The great blue shark reaches 3.8 meters in length and weighs 204 kilograms. This species has an elongated slender body with long pectoral fins. Body color - blue, belly-white.

Odd-toothed (bull, horned) sharks(heterodontiformes )

The order includes one fossil and one modern genus, in which the following species can be distinguished:

• Zebra bull (Chinese bull, narrow-band bull, narrow-band horned) shark (Heterodontus zebra)

It lives off the coast of China, Japan, Australia, Indonesia. The maximum recorded length is 122 cm. The body of the narrow-striped bull shark is light brown or white with wide brown stripes, in addition, there are narrow stripes on the sides.

• Helmeted bull shark(Heterodontus galeatus)

A rare species that lives off the coast of Australia. The skin of helmet-shaped bull sharks is covered with large and coarse skin teeth. The color is light brown, 5 dark saddle-shaped marks are scattered along the main background. The maximum recorded length of a shark is 1.2 m.

• Mozambican bull (African horned) shark (Heterodontus ramalheira)

The fish has a body length of just over 50 centimeters and lives off the coast of Mozambique, Yemen and Somalia. The base of the anal fin is located behind the base of the second dorsal fin. The main color of this species of sharks is red-brown in color, small white spots are scattered over it. The maximum fixed length is 64 cm.

Polygills(multigill)sharks(lat. Hexanchiformes)

A primitive detachment representing only 6 species of sharks, with the most famous:

• Frilled shark (frilled shark) (Chlamydoselachus anguineus)

This shark has the ability to bend its body and attack prey like a snake. The length of the frill can reach 2 m, but is usually about 1.5 m in females and 1.3 m in males. The body is strongly elongated. The color of this species of sharks is an even dark brown or gray color. They are distributed from the northern coast of Norway to Taiwan and California.

• Sevengill (ash sevengill shark, sevengill) (Heptranchias perlo)

It has a length of just over 1 meter and, despite aggressive behavior, is not dangerous to humans. It lives from coastal Cuban waters to the coast of Australia and Chile.

The color of this species of sharks ranges from brownish-gray to olive in color, the belly is lighter. Some individuals of the ashen sevengill shark have dark markings scattered along the back, and light edging of the fins is possible. Young sharks with sevengills have dark spots on their sides, the edges of the dorsal and upper lobe of the caudal fins are darker than the main color.

lamniform sharks(Lamniformes)

These are large fish endowed with a body resembling a torpedo in shape. The order includes 7 genera:

• Giant (gigantic) sharks ( Cetorhinidae)

They have an average length of 15 m, but, despite their impressive dimensions, they do not pose a danger to people. Grey-brown in color with flecks. On the caudal peduncle there are pronounced lateral keels, the tail of sickle-shaped sharks. Giant sharks live mainly in the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, North and Mediterranean Seas.

• Fox sharks (sea foxes) (Alopias)

They differ in a very long upper part of the caudal fin, equal to the length of the body. Sea foxes have a generally slender body with small dorsal and long pectoral fins. The color of sharks varies from brownish to bluish or lilac-gray, the belly is light. They grow up to 6 m in length, but are shy and try to avoid meeting a person.

Fox sharks are common in the waters of North America and along the entire Pacific coast.

• Herring (lamp) sharks ( Lamnidae)

These are the fastest sharks. A prominent representative of the family is the white shark, which has a body length of up to 6 meters. Thanks to their delicious meat, herring sharks are exterminated for commercial purposes, and are also used as objects of sport hunting in the warm waters of the world's oceans.

• False sand sharks(Pseudocarcharias)

Pseudocarcharias kamoharai is the only species in the genus. These fish are distinguished by a peculiar body shape resembling a cigar. The average body length is 1 m, predators are not aggressive towards humans, but when caught, they begin to bite. These sharks live in the eastern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

• sand sharks(Odontaspidae)

A family of large fish with an upturned nose and a curved mouth. Slow and not aggressive, they are considered theoretically dangerous to humans, although recorded cases of cannibalism most likely relate to gray sharks, with which sandy sharks are often confused.

Sand sharks are inhabitants of all tropical and many cool seas. The maximum body length of this shark species is 3.7 m.

• largemouth (pelagic) sharks(Megachasma)

Family Megachasma represented by a single and rare species Megachasmapelagios. Representatives of the species of largemouth sharks feed on plankton and are not dangerous to humans. The body length of this species is up to 6 m in length. These sharks swim off the coast of Japan, Taiwan and the Philippine Islands.

• Scapanorhynchus sharks (goblin sharks) (Mitsukurinidae)

They represent 1 species, which received the popular nickname "shark - goblin" for a long nose in the shape of a beak. The length of an adult is about 4 m with a weight of just over 200 kg. A rare deep-sea shark species lives off the coast of Japan and Australia.

Wobbegong(Orectolobiformes)

A detachment consisting of 32 species of sharks, the brightest representative of which is the whale shark (lat. Rhincodon typus), growing up to 20 meters in length. A good-natured animal that allows divers to stroke themselves and even ride on their backs.

Most species feed on mollusks and crayfish in shallow water. These sharks are found in the warm waters of the tropical and subtropical zones.

Sawtooth sharks(Pristiophoriformes )

The detachment includes the only family Pylon sharks or Pylon sharks (lat. Pristiophoridae), which are distinguished by a long, flat muzzle with saw-like teeth. The average length of an adult sawnose shark is 1.5 meters. These predatory fish are distributed in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as off the coast of South Africa, Australia, Japan and a number of Caribbean countries.

Katranobraznye (spiky) sharks (Squaliformes)

Numerous order, including 22 genera and 112 species. Unusual representatives of the order are the Southern katran, sea dog, or marigold (lat. Squalus acanthias), which can be found in all seas and oceans, including arctic and subantarctic waters.

flat-bodied sharks (angelfish, squatins) (Squatina)

Differ in a wide, flat body, in appearance resembling a stingray. Representatives of sea angels have a length of a little more than 2 meters, are predominantly nocturnal, and during the day they sleep, buried in silt. They live in all warm waters of the oceans.

shark breeding

Sharks are distinguished by a long duration of puberty. Most females are capable of fertilization only at the age of 10, and the whale shark becomes sexually mature at the age of 30-40 years.

Sharks are characterized by internal fertilization: some species lay eggs, others are ovoviviparous, and other species are viviparous. The incubation period depends on the species and lasts from several months to 2 years.

The laying of oviparous fish contains from 2 to 12 eggs.

Shark eggs after fertilization are covered with a protein shell, which is also covered with a horn-like shell. This allows you to protect them from various marine predators.

The hatched cub immediately begins to live and eat on its own.

In captive sharks, there have been cases of parthenogenesis - fertilization without the participation of a male.

Cubs of ovoviviparous sharks, hatched in the womb, remain in the oviducts for some time and continue to develop, first eating unfertilized eggs, and when teeth grow, their weak brothers and sisters.

As a result, one, less often, two of the strongest cubs are born. The body length of a newborn shark is different, for example, white shark sharks are born 155 cm in length, and tiger sharks are only 51-76 cm long.

Shark attacks on people, or killer sharks

According to international data, the leading countries in the number of shark attacks are the USA, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand. However, according to unofficial statistics, African countries are the most dangerous. Here, the largest and most dangerous shark populations live in the region of Mozambique, Tanzania and Ghana. It is worth noting that shark attacks on people occur mainly in ocean waters rather than in continental seas.

Throughout the history of its existence, man considers the shark a fiend, a killer with the manners of a maniac and universal evil. There are a lot of stories about killer sharks in the world.

The danger that the shark allegedly poses to humans is greatly exaggerated thanks to science fiction books and sensational horror films. Only 4 species of sharks make unprovoked attacks on people: white, tiger, long-winged sharks and bull sharks. The most common misconception is that sharks love human meat. In reality, having snatched off a piece, the shark will most likely spit it out, not finding anything in such food that satisfies its need to replenish energy reserves.

• Despite (or because of) their notoriety, sharks are considered one of the most curious fish, arousing the interest of scientists, divers, and many people far from the world of the ocean.
• In Chinese culture, sharks, or rather parts of them, play a special role. Shark fin soup is a recognized delicacy and is offered to the most honored guests, and dried shark fins are considered an aphrodisiac.
• Japanese culture exposes sharks as terrible monsters that carry away the souls of sinners.
• The current belief that shark cartilage is a panacea for cancer has no scientific evidence. Moreover, scientists have dispelled the myth that sharks are immune to cancer: malignant tumors of various systems and organs have been found in many fish.
• Despite the fact that shark meat tends to accumulate mercury, this does not stop many people, and to this day it is used as a delicacy.
• The strong and durable skin of sharks has found application in the haberdashery industry, and is also used for the manufacture of abrasive materials.
• For centuries, sharks have been exterminated in the most irrational and blasphemous way for the sake of fins, which make up only 4% of body weight. And the carcasses are left to rot on the ground or thrown into the ocean.
• The shark is a fish that plays an invaluable role in the ocean ecosystem, but a third of the shark species are on the verge of extinction only through the fault of man.

These predators are considered a thunderstorm of the seas and oceans. Sharks devour anyone in their path. Only a person or a killer whale can encroach on their life. Moreover, the latter calculates strength and rushes at small individuals. People break records, trying to catch a bigger fish. The achievements of the fishermen show us which shark is the largest in the world.

Extinct record holder

The article will touch upon incredible stories about fish of impressive size. But this monster, supposedly the progenitor of the white shark, has no rivals. His name is Megalodon. The length of the body of the inhabitant of the warm seas reached 16 meters, and the mass - 45 tons. The bite force was 11 tons. Admire the photo of the megalodon shark and its fossil tooth!

Such dimensions automatically deprived the giant of competition in hunting. The diet consisted of live and dead marine mammals, and large fish. Fossil analysis shows that the predator was superior to modern sharks in terms of strength and sophistication of hunting strategies.

The extinction happened 3 million years ago. Two reasons are named: climate change or aggravation of competitive relations in famine years. Remains are found from the time of the Renaissance throughout the globe. In 2013, the predator unexpectedly ... came to life.

So the creators of the program on Discovery Chanel claimed. The facts were presented convincingly. But the video about the biggest sharks in the world was fabricated. Television workers have been criticized by scientists. However, this did not prevent the launch of a series of programs.

XXI Century

526 species of sharks live in the ocean space. Each of them has representatives of large sizes. Unfortunately, measurements of fish are carried out only after the catch. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about the real dimensions of the inhabitants of the oceans. Let's compare officially caught representatives to find out which shark is the largest in the world.

mako shark

Body length 4.5 meters. Individuals of this species jump out of the water to a height of up to 6 m and develop a speed of 70 km / h. The shark is considered dangerous to humans, but documented cases of attacks were provoked by the person himself.

sixgill shark

The body length reaches 5.4 m. Living organisms and carrion are eaten, cannibalism is also characteristic. Cases of attacks on seals were recorded. The predators themselves are victims of white sharks, killer whales, sea lions and people. Commercial production is carried out because of the value of liver fat and meat. But more often they are caught for trophies.

A fish is indifferent to a person until it is touched. Touching causes irritation, the animal rushes to the bottom.

The length of the largest shark in the world of this species is 5m. The predator poses a particular danger to humans. Human remains have been repeatedly found in the stomach. They eat any living creature that is smaller in size. Do not disdain wounded tribesmen and carrion.

The species was discovered in 1976. Science knows about 60 individuals. In 2004, a dead female 5.63m long washed up on the shore of Ichihara. In 2006, a 5.7m specimen got entangled in nets set up near Japan. The individual was released into the wild, but was soon found dead.

Females are larger than the stronger sex. The largest male, measuring 4.9 m, was caught in the waters near California. Thanks to this individual, some details from the life of the species have been revealed. Scientists observed the world's largest pelagic shark for several days.

These giants are known to feed on plankton. For prey, they descend to a depth of 160m. In general, the species has been little studied.

A long thin tail increases the size of the fish up to 6 meters. It is used as a mining tool. The victim is stunned and quietly absorbed by the predator. The species is famous for its fearfulness and safety for humans.

Giant hammerhead shark

The officially registered body length is 6.1 meters. The name is due to the unusual appearance: the muzzle of the fish is comparable to a hammer. This "hammer" plays the role of a tool in the life of one of the largest sharks. With it, he gets his favorite delicacy - stingrays. Like fox sharks, they immobilize fish, then eat them. Crustaceans and cephalopods are also included in the diet.

Carcharodon

The great white shark is the name of the most dangerous predator on the planet. 30-50 attacks per person are recorded annually. Sharks often bite their victims but do not eat them. When bitten, the victim in 90% of cases dies from blood loss.

A curious fact: snakes and even bees with wasps kill more people in a year than sharks in a century.

The variation in body length in the species is enormous. Off the coast of Australia in 1945, the great white shark Carcharodon was caught, weighing 804 kg and 6.4 meters long. Shocked? These are the little things! 3 individuals of this species entered the history:

• 1959 - fisherman Elf Dean pulled a fish weighing 1208.38 kg and 5.17 m tall from the Australian bay. The result is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records;
• 1976 - the weight of the prey caught by Klivin Green near Australia was 1.5 tons, the length was 5.24 meters. The registration of the achievement was denied, due to the fisherman's use of whale meat as a profit;
• 1978 - the region of the Isthmus of Panama in the Pacific Ocean - a trophy with a weight of 2.238 tons and a body length of 6.2 meters was caught.

Interestingly, in the first two cases, a fishing rod was used. Elf Dean used a steel line with a total weight of 59 kg. The result of Pacific fishing was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the capture of the largest white shark. But he did not bring fishing glory, due to the use of a harpoon when fishing.

These fish break several records at once. They belong to the quiet ones. The speed of movement does not exceed 2.7 km / h. A slow metabolism leads to a long lifespan. Radiocarbon analysis of the eyes of 28 individuals was carried out. Studies have shown that these marine inhabitants live for about 500 years!

The maximum known body length is 6.4 meters, and the weight is about a ton. These dimensions make the shark a champion in its habitat - the northern latitudes. Fish live exclusively in cold waters and encounters with humans are practically excluded. Some of the largest sharks in the world feed on seals. Cases of attacks on sleeping marine mammals have been recorded.

The growth of giants reaches 9.8 meters, and the weight is 4 tons. The largest is considered to be an individual caught in 1851. The mass was 9 tons, and the body length was 12.7 m. The diet consists of plankton, so it does not pose a danger to humans. The species is vulnerable, the number of individuals is constantly declining.

Interestingly, a third of the weight is the liver. 150 years ago, the fishery was widely developed, the purpose of which was the liver oil of sharks. It is still used in medicine today.

The world's largest shark - megalodon, whale shark is much inferior in parameters. But this does not prevent her from occupying a leading position in size among all living fish. off the coast of Pakistan in 2000. an individual 12.65 m long and 7 m wide was caught. This is an absolute record!

The Internet is full of reports of "some data", according to which the growth of the monster reaches 20 meters. However, there are no references to reliable sources. Such information comes from deep-sea diving enthusiasts and they have to take their word for it.

Giants eat plankton, squid and small fish. Relationships with people are good. A few years ago, an unusual video appeared on the network. The divers met the fish and expected it to calmly swim past. But the giant opened his mouth and carefully pulled the diver's hand. So the sea animal asked for help: a fishing rope was wrapped around its body. At least, that's what the participants in the liberation operation say.

Selfies look especially impressive, holding on to the fin of the world's largest shark.

As already noted, the dimensions of marine life can be objectively judged only on the basis of caught specimens. There is an opinion that the sizes of individuals of each species in the thickness of the ocean exceed the recorded ones by 3-8 meters. Do you think there are large fish hiding in the waters? Share in the comments.

Sharks are little studied, as is ocean life in general. It scares people. The appearance of even the smallest individuals inspires fear. Today we have seen that not all predators are dangerous to humans. The degree of threat is greatly exaggerated by cinema and literature. It is interesting that animals of solid size are more disposed towards humans than their small counterparts.