Salmon sharks are mackerels found across the northern Pacific Ocean. They are the apex predator of their habitat, one they share with other sharks like the great white shark and blue shark.
Animalia | |
Chordata | |
Chondrichthyes | |
Lamniformes | |
Lamnidae | |
Lamna | |
Lamna ditropis |
Animalia | |
Chordata | |
Chondrichthyes | |
Lamniformes | |
Lamnidae | |
Lamna | |
Lamna ditropis |
Size: Adults reach between 6.6 and 8.6 ft (200-260 cm). The largest confirmed length of a salmon shark is 10 ft (3 m).
Weight: They can weigh up to 485 lbs (220 kg), some have been reported to be more than 992 lb (450 kg).
Color: They have a medium gray to black color on most of their body, while there are dark blotches on the ventral side.
Salmon sharks are found in the waters of the northern Pacific Ocean.
These sharks inhabit both oceanic and coastal waters, usually with temperatures of 36.5°-75.2°F (2.5°-24°C) at depths of up to 500 ft (152.4 m).
They live on Pacific salmon, steelhead trout, Pacific herring, Pollock, sardines, daggertooth, pomfrets, sculpins, and Pacific sauries.
Copulation takes place when the male bites a female’s pectoral fin to hold on to them and inserts one of its modified pelvic fins, known as claspers into the female’s cloaca. The gestation period lasts for about 9 months after which a litter of 2-6 pups is born. During gestation, the embryos feed on the mother’s ova.
Male salmon sharks become capable of reproducing by the time they are 5 years old, but females may take as long as 8 to 10 years to become sexually mature.
They can live for between 20 to 30 years.
They communicate through visual, auditory, olfactory, mechanical, chemoreceptive, and electroreceptive channels.
Great white sharks, blue sharks, and adult salmon sharks may prey on juvenile salmon sharks. Adult salmon sharks have no natural predators.
The IUCN currently lists the salmon shark under their ‘Least Concern’ category.
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