Blue Shark

Threat Level: medium

The Blue Shark is also known as great blue shark,
requin bleu and Blue Whaler.

BLUE SHARK

Scientific Name.... Prionace Glauca
Family Name...... Carcharhinidae

General Information: The blue shark is large and slender with a indigo blue upper body. With its long , narrow, and pointed pectoral fins, long snout, and large eyes, it is unmistakable.

Size: The maximum reported size is 13 feet, but the average blue shark are seldom over 8 1/2 feet. The size at birth are from 13 to 19.6 inches.

Teeth: The Blue Shark has long serrated teeth which it uses to catch slippery prey, like squid and fish, which make up the bulk of its diet.

Color: The blue shark which is one of the most attractive sharks and easily recognized by its distinct color of deep indigo blue on its upper body and the sides are a bright blue with a markedly white belly.

Feeding Habits: Blue sharks feed ravenously on large schools of squid. While feeding on the squid some blue sharks will charge into the groups with their mouths agape, engulfing large numbers of them. They also feed on pelagic fishes such as cod, haddock, mackerel, tuna, herring and swordfish. However, this species will also eat larger prey items, like small sharks, seabirds, box fishes and daggertooth. It will also scavenge on dead cetaceans. The blue shark has elongate papillae on the gill rakers that apparently prevent smaller, slippery prey from escaping out of the gill slits.
Fish caught on long lines during fishing are often attacked and consumed by blue sharks, who in turn often become ensnared in the fishing gear. They may feed more actively at night, with highest activity in the early evening.

Senses: They have well developed sight, and smell, and can detect electric currents given off by their prey. They also have the senses of taste touch and hearing.

Social Behaviour: Blue Sharks are aggressive, and are considered to pose a threat to humans. They have been know to attack people occasionally. Blue Sharks often form large all-female, or all-male groups of sharks of similar size. No one knows why they do this.

Habitat | Migration | Distribution: The blue shark is found worldwide in the open oceans throughout the tropics and into cooler seas. In the tropics it often enters deeper, cooler water, as it prefers temperatures between 7 and 16 degrees Celsius. It comes close to the edge of kelp beds, where divers may see them. This shark is often observed at the ocean's surface, however, it can be found at depths down to 700 feet.

Reproduction: Although not yet observed, blue shark courtship is thought to be very lively. Males apparently bite the females during courtship and possibly during the mating act. Fortunately the females skin is about three times as thick as the males. Mating occurs during late spring to early winter. Blue sharks are viviparous, bearing live young ,fully formed. They mate and store sperm for nearly a year, after which fertilization occurs. Litters of from 4 to 135 pups, depending on the size of the mother, are born alive the following year.

Swimming: The blue sharks long, tapered body makes it a very graceful swimmer. It has an elongated caudal fin, which provides swimming power as it moves it's tail from side-to-side. The blue shark is among the fastest sharks, and even the fastest fish! It can even leap out of the water estimated at speed of about 22mph, but others say they can reach speeds of 60mph. Not enough studies have been done to know which is closer to the truth.

Blue Shark Attacks: Although attacks are unlikely, excited sharks have occasionally taken a nip at an unwary diver.