Great white shark
Scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overview
The great white shark, also known as the white shark, white pointer, or great white, is a large shark. It is closely related to the mako sharks, the porbeagle, and the salmon shark. It is a robustly built species with a grayish upperside and a white underside. The white shark is one of the largest living shark and fish species, though it is still smaller than the whale shark and basking shark. It has about 300 triangular, serrated teeth that are continuously replaced. Its massive, fatty liver can reach over a quarter of its body weight, providing buoyancy and storing energy. The species is partially warm-blooded, an adaptation that allows it to remain active in colder waters.
From the Wikipedia article “Great white shark”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Size and lifespan
Where it lives
Common names
Also known in English as anchovy-eater, blue pointer, cowshark, death shark, demon shark, great white death, jumping shark, man-eater shark, mudshark, Tommy, tuna shark, uptail.
Names in other languages (14)
- Arabic
- قرش أبيض كبير
- Bengali
- সাদা হাঙ্গর
- Chinese
- 噬人鯊, 大白鯊, 大白鲨, 食人鮫, 食人鯊
- French
- grand requin blanc, requin blanc
- German
- Menschenhai, Merviel Fras, weißer Hai, Weisshai
- Hindi
- विशाल श्वेत शार्क
- Indonesian
- Hiu putih raksasa, Hiu putih.
- Japanese
- hitokiuzame, hohojirozame, oshirozame, ホホジロザメ
- Persian
- کوسه بزرگ سفید
- Portuguese
- tabarao, tubarâo branco, Tubarão-branco
- Russian
- белая акула, кархародон мегалодон, мегалодон
- Spanish
- ca mari, Gran tiburón blanco, jaquetón, jaquetón blanco, jaquetón de ley, marraco
- Turkish
- Büyük beyaz köpek balığı, buyuk beyaz kopekbaligi
- Urdu
- عظیم سفید شارک
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, measurements, names in other languages. Q129026, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Great white shark”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Sharkdiver.com, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026