Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums

Great White Sharks Preserved in European
Museums
Great White Sharks Preserved in European
Museums
By
Alessandro De Maddalena
CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS PUBLISHING
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums, by Alessandro De Maddalena
This book first published 2007 by
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
15 Angerton Gardens, Newcastle, NE5 2JA, UK
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Copyright © 2007 by Alessandro De Maddalena for text and drawings; copyright of photographs as in
captions
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN 1-84718-189-9; ISBN 13: 9781847181893
This book is dedicated to
Alessandra and Antonio
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword .......................................................................................................... viii
Preface .................................................................................................................x
Acknowledgements........................................................................................... xii
About the Author ..............................................................................................xvi
An Outline of Biology, Ethology and Ecology ....................................................1
The Study of White Sharks Preserved in Museums ...........................................39
European Museums that own Great White Sharks.............................................44
List of Specimens Preserved in European Museums .........................................48
Preserving Great White Sharks ..........................................................................62
Specimens of Particular Interest.........................................................................75
Conclusions........................................................................................................92
Bibliography ......................................................................................................95
FOREWORD
For eons people have gazed across the surface of the sea and pondered, and
feared, what lay beneath, hidden in the depths. This work by Alessandro De
Maddalena not only records the source of some of those fears, beginning with
the catch of a great white shark in the 1600s, but begins to allay our irrational
fears with straightforward information on this magnificent, and still mysterious,
beast of the depths.
In a meticulous manner, the author has documented all records of great white
sharks in museums throughout Europe including when and where caught. It is a
work of fact that inspires the imagination and will lead to the growing and
credible body of knowledge on a creature that continues to fascinate us, both
from the scientific point of view and from a curiosity as to what lies ahead for
us to learn. Alessandro De Maddalena has probed the past as it is embodied in
our great museums to illuminate the present and it is a work that both the
scholar and the curious can enjoy.
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society,
Santa Barbara, California,
December 2006
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
ix
Figure 1 - Alessandro De Maddalena and Jean-Michel Cousteau at the Festival Mondial
de l'Image Sous Marine in Antibes Juan-Les-Pins, France, in October 1999 (photograph
by Alessandro De Maddalena).
PREFACE
Since 1996 the Italian Great White Shark Data Bank has collected a substantial
amount of information regarding historical and recent records of the great white
shark, Carcharodon carcharias, from the Mediterranean Sea. The location and
the study of white sharks preserved in natural history museum is a fundamental
part of this research program. I have condensed virtually everything that is
known about the great white sharks that are preserved in European museums in
this book.
Available data of 104 great white sharks from 44 institutions of 15 countries is
presented herein. Much of this material is preserved in good condition and
include numerous interesting specimens. Most material consists of taxidermied
specimens and jaws and in a few cases are accompanied by chondrocranium and
vertebrae. Most specimens with known capture locations come from the
Mediterranean Sea. The majority of specimens are very old, only 12 having
been caught after 1950. The jaws belonging to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in
Milan, dated from at least 1640-1660, are the oldest white shark material
preserved in Europe. The largest specimens of which parts are preserved in any
European museum may be those of which skeletal parts are preserved in the
Museo di Anatomia Comparata of Rome, Italy, and the Museo Zoologico "La
Specola" of Florence, Italy. The cast of a 5.65 m female great white shark
preserved in the Musée cantonal de Zoologie of Lausanne, is the world’s largest
that has been reconstructed directly from a whole specimen. The largest skinmounted specimen is a 5.22 m female preserved in the Museo Civico di Storia
Naturale of Trieste. The 1.50 m female preserved in the Senckenberg
Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum of Frankfurt is the smallest taxidermied
white shark preserved in Europe.
The publication also includes a concise general account of white shark
evolution, anatomy, physiology, reproduction, feeding, attacks on humans and
fishery. Up-to-date literature references are included. Extensively researched,
this encyclopedic account is enhanced by many photographs and drawings, that
bring to life the extraordinary world of the great white shark. I have combined a
genuine admiration for this predator with the research biologist's eye for
accurate detail. This guide provides a valuable introduction to the biology of
these unique creatures. The ease of reading of the book and its thoroughness
will make it a welcomed addition to any naturalist's library.
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
xi
Alessandro De Maddalena
Italian Great White Shark Data Bank
Milan, Italy
December 2006
Figure 2 - Jaws of a great white shark caught in August 1857 in the Gulf of Mexico,
preserved in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria" of Genova, Italy (cat.
no. C.E. 2056) (photograph by Alessandro De Maddalena, courtesy of the Museo Civico
di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Genova).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to the following individuals who kindly edited various parts of
the English text of this book: John Clay Bruner (Department of Biological
Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), Alex “The
Sharkman” Buttigieg (Sharkman’s World Organization, San Gwann, Malta),
Clinton Duffy (Marine Conservation Unit, Department of Conservation,
Auckland, New Zealand), Eric G. Haenni (Crossroads Environmental
Consultants, Palm City, Florida, U.S.A.), Bill Heim (Alexandria, Virginia,
U.S.A.), Marie Levine (Global Shark Attack File, Princeton, New Jersey,
U.S.A.), R. Aidan Martin (ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research, Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada).
Very special thanks to all the people that offered their help in collecting data
and general information for this book: Peter Adamik (Vlastivĕdné muzeum v
Olomouci, Olomouc, Czech Republic), Luca Altichieri (Museo di Geologia e
Paleontologia, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy), Scot Anderson (Inverness,
California, U.S.A.), Ivano Ansaloni (Museo di Storia Naturale e della
Strumentazione
Scientifica,
Modena,
Italy),
Gerhard
Aubrecht
(Biologiezentrum, Oberoesterreichische Landesmuseen, Linz/Dornach, Austria),
Enrico Banfi (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milano, Italy), Joan Barrull
(Museu de Zoologia, Barcelona, Spain), Àlex Bartolí (CRAM - Fundació per a
la Conservació i Recuperació d'Animals Marins, Premià de Mar, Spain), Peter
Bartsch (Museum für Naturkunde, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Berlin,
Germany), Emilio Balletto (Dipartimento di Zoologia, Università di Torino,
Torino, Italy), David C. Bernvi (Caracal Publishing, Gothenburg, Sweden),
Andrea Bryk (Haus der Natur, Salzburg, Austria), Michèle Bruni (Musée
Océanographique, Monaco-Ville, Principauté de Monaco), Philippe Candegabe
(Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Grenoble, Grenoble, France), Ernesto Capanna
(Museo di Anatomia Comparata, Roma, Italy), Capitaneria di Porto di Piombino
(Piombino, Italy), Christian Capapé (Laboratoire d'Ichtyologie, Université
Montpellier II, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier, France),
Antonio Celona (Aquastudio Research Institute, Messina, Italy), Silvia Chicchi
(Musei Civici, Reggio Emilia, Italy), Geremy Cliff (Natal Sharks Board,
Umhlanga Rocks, South Africa), Oliver Crimmen (British Museum of Natural
History, London, England, United Kingdom), Gianluca Cugini (Mediterranean
Shark Research Group, Pescara, Italy), Isabella De Maddalena (Milano, Italy),
Pascal Deynat (Laboratoire d'Ichtyologie Générale et Appliquée, Museum
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
xiii
National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Paris, France), Sergio Dolce (Museo
Civico di Storia Naturale, Trieste, Italy), Giuliano Doria (Museo Civico di
Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Genova, Italy), Donatella Foddai
(Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy),
Nicola Franzese (Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy), Vittorio
Gabriotti (Società Ittiologica Italiana, Brescia, Italy), Txema Galaz (Tuna Farms
of Mediterraneo, San Javier, Murcia, Spain), Elena Gavetti (Museo Regionale di
Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy), Roberto Gioia (Roma, Italy), Olivier Glaizot
(Musée cantonal de Zoologie, Lausanne, Switzerland), Gérard Gory (Muséum
d'histoire naturelle de Nîmes, Nîmes, France), Kurt Grossenbacher
(Naturhistorisches Museum, Bern, Switzerland), Walter Heim (San Diego,
California, U.S.A.), Ernst Hofinger (Hofinger Tier-Präparationen, Steyrermühl,
Austria), Drazen Kotrošan (Zemaljski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo,
Bosnia and Herzergovina), Marcelo Kovačić (Prirodoslovni muzej Rijeka,
Rijeka, Croatia), Michel Krafft (Musée cantonal de Zoologie, Lausanne,
Switzerland), Friedhelm Krupp (Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und
Naturmuseum, Frankfurt a. M., Germany), Boris Krystufek (Prirodoslovni
muzej Slovenije, Ljubljana, Slovenija), Georges Lenglet (Koninklijk Belgisch
Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Brussels, Belgium), Lovrenc Lipej
(Marine Biological Station, National Institute of Biology, Piran, Slovenia), Jeff
Liston (Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom), Nicola Maio
(Museo Zoologico, Napoli, Italy), Gianni Marangoni (Museo Civico di
Zoologia, Giardino Zoologico, Roma, Italy), Mario Marconi (Museo di Scienze
Naturali, Università degli Studi di Camerino, Camerino, Italy), Isabel Mate
(Museu de Zoologia, Barcelona, Spain), Elvio Mazzagufo (Italy), Glauco
Micheli (Italy), Vincenzo Milanesi (Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova,
Italy), Lorenzo Millan (Tuna Farms of Mediterraneo, San Javier, Murcia,
Spain), Alessandro Minelli (Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di
Padova, Padova, Italy), Daniela Minelli (Museo di Anatomia Comparata,
Bologna, Italy), Luca Mizzan (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Fontego dei
Turchi, Venezia, Italy), Angelo Mojetta (Acquario e Civica Stazione
Idrobiologica, Milano, Italy), Jiří Moravec (Národní muzeum, Praha, Czech
Republic), Alessandro Morescalchi (Istituto di Anatomia Comparata, Università
degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy), Lisa J. Natanson (National Marine
Fisheries Service, Narragansett, Rhode Island, U.S.A.), Marco Maria Navoni
(Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milano, Italy), Paola Nicolosi (Museo di Zoologia,
Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy), Jørgen Nielsen (Zoologisk
Museum, University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark), Guy Oliver
(Laboratoire de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Université de Perpignan,
Perpignan, France), Peter Psomadakis (Museo Zoologico, Napoli, Italy), Lidia
Orsi Relini (DIPTERIS, Università di Genova, Genova, Italy), Carlo Pesarini
xiv
Acknowledgements
(Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milano, Italy), Luigi Piscitelli (Società
Ittiologica Italiana, Milano, Italy), Jürgen Plass (Biologiezentrum,
Oberoesterreichische Landesmuseen, Linz/Dornach, Austria), Michela Podestà
(Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milano, Italy), Marta Poggesi (Museo
Zoologico "La Specola", Firenze, Italy), Roberto Poggi (Museo Civico di Storia
Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Genova, Italy), Antonella Preti (National Marine
Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, California,
U.S.A.), Alberto Luca Recchi (RAL Gruppo srl, Roma, Italy), Giulio Relini
(DIPTERIS, Università di Genova, Genova, Italy), Danilo Rezzolla
(Mediterranean Shark Research Group, Milano, Italy), Rhian Rowson (Bristol
Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, England, United Kingdom), Radek Šanda
(Národní muzeum, Praha, Czech Republic), Maurizio Sarà (Museo di Zoologia
Doderlein, Palermo, Italy), Fabrizio Serena (ARPAT-AREAMARE, Livorno,
Italy), Bernard Séret (Laboratoire d'Ichtyologie Générale et Appliquée, Museum
National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Paris, France), Paolo Sibille (Museo
Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy), Thomas Sohm (Inatura - Erlebnis
Naturschau Dornbirn, Dornbirn, Austria), Tiziano Storai (Museo Civico di
Scienze Naturali della Valdinievole, Pescia, Italy), Skip Theberge (NOAA
Central Library, Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.), Paolo Tongiorgi (Museo di
Storia Naturale e della Strumentazione Scientifica, Modena, Italy), Sam
Trebilcock (Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, England, United Kingdom),
Stefano Vanni (Museo Zoologico "La Specola", Firenze, Italy), Helmut
Wellendorf (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Wien, Austria), Thomas Winkler
(Tierpräparation Thomas Winkler, Trebus, Germany), Sabine Wintner (Natal
Sharks Board, Umhlanga Rocks, South Africa), Alberto Zanoli (Italy), Marco
Zuffa (Museo Archeologico “Luigi Donini”, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy) and
Marco Zuffi (Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio, Calci, Italy).
For their help, support and friendship, my sincere gratitude goes to Alessandra,
Antonio, Sauro, Pinuccia, Emilio, Elisabetta, Isabella, Eleonora and also to the
Mediterranean Shark Research Group and the Italian Ichthyological Society. My
gratitude also goes to the publisher for its assistance.
Finally, very special thanks to Jean-Michel Cousteau (Jean-Michel Cousteau's
Ocean Futures Society, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A.) for providing the
Foreword. I have a lot of respect for Jean-Michel's knowledge and expertise on
the subject, and I'm pleased to have his thoughts and comments at the beginning
of my book.
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
xv
Figure 3 - The hall of sharks at the Naturhistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria, with a
3.60 m taxidermied female white shark caught in August 1991 in Richards Bay, South
Africa (cat. no. NMW-94397) (photograph courtesy of the Naturhistorisches Museum,
Wien).
THE AUTHOR
Alessandro De Maddalena (Milan, 1970) is one of Europe's foremost shark
experts. He's the curator of the Italian Great White Shark Data Bank, the
President of the Italian Ichthyological Society and a founding member of the
Mediterranean Shark Research Group. His research subjects include great white
shark biology, sharks' morphology, distribution and fishery. The results of his
researches have appeared in numerous scientific journals including Annales
Series historia naturalis, Museologia Scientifica, Annali del Museo Civico di
Storia Naturale di Genova, Bollettino del Museo civico di Storia naturale di
Venezia, Thalassia Salentina, Biljeske - Notes, Journal of the National Museum
of Prague, South African Journal of Science, Marine Life, Latin American
Journal of Aquatic Mammals. He's the author of six other books on sharks:
"Squali delle Acque Italiane" (Ireco, 2001), "Lo Squalo Bianco nei Mari
d'Italia" (Ireco, 2002), "Sharks of the Adriatic Sea" (Knjiznica Annales Majora,
2004, co-authored with Lovrenc Lipej and Alen Soldo), "Mako Sharks" (Krieger
Publishing, 2005, co-authored with Antonella Preti and Robert Smith), "Haie im
Mittelmeer" (Kosmos Verlag, 2005, co-authored with Harald Bänsch), "I grandi
animali marini del Mediterraneo. Guida al loro riconoscimento in mare"
(Rivista Marittima, 2005, co-authored with Antonio Celona). Alessandro De
Maddalena is also one of the world's best wildlife illustrators; he produced more
than 800 drawings and paintings of sharks and cetaceans. His articles and
illustrations have appeared in many wildlife magazines, including The World
and I, Dive New Zealand, Dive Pacific, Annales, Biologie in unserer Zeit,
Unterwasser, Apnéa, Plongeurs International, Océanorama, Enviromagazin,
Mondo Sommerso, Il Pesce, EuroFishmarket, Aqva, Quark, Airone and Rivista
Marittima.
Contact:
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena
Italian Great White Shark Data Bank
via L. Ariosto 4, I-20145 Milan, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.geocities.com/demaddalena_a/demaddalena.html
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
xvii
Figure 4 - Alessandro De Maddalena showing the jaws of an about 5.5-metre great white
shark caught in 1909 in Camargue, France, preserved in the Oceanographic Museum of
Monaco (cat. no. MOM-P0I-4254) (photograph by Alessandra Baldi, courtesy of the
Musée Océanographique de Monaco).
AN OUTLINE OF BIOLOGY, ETHOLOGY
AND ECOLOGY
Sharks, among the Order Selachii, are related to rays, skates and chimaeras
since they all have a cartilaginous skeleton in common. These groups are placed
in the Class Chondrichthyes, subdivided in Subclass Elasmobranchs, including
sharks and rays and Subclass Holocephalans constituted by chimaeras.
Externally sharks are easy to distinguish from Teleosts or bony fishes by the
following characteristics: the mouth is generally situated in a ventral position
rather than terminal, the gills are not protected by an operculum (a gill covering
typical of bony fishes) and the rays that support the fins are not externally
visible.
Figure 5 - A manta ray on display at the Národní Muzeum of Prague, Czech Republic.
Rays, sharks and chimaeras are called Chondrichthyes because they have skeletons
composed of cartilage (photograph by Alessandro De Maddalena, courtesy of the
Národní Muzeum, Prague).
2
An Outline of Biology, Ethology and Ecology
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) belongs to the family
Lamnidae, which also includes the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), longfin
mako (Isurus paucus), porbeagle (Lamna nasus) and salmon shark (Lamna
ditropis). Lamnids are sharks that generally attain gargantuan dimensions. They
are strong and powerful predators who are occasionally dubbed "mackerel
sharks". This is due to some morphological aspects that they have in common
with teleosts belonging to the Scombridae family. In particular they have the
same tapered shape, a thin caudal peduncle that forms a dorso-ventrally
depressed, laterally expanded keel, and a half moon shaped caudal fin.
Figure 6 - Parts of a great white shark (drawing by Alessandro De Maddalena).
Linnaeus described the great white shark as Squalus carcharias in 1758. The
genus Carcharodon was proposed by Andrew Smith in an 1838 work by
Johannes Müller and Friedrich Henle. The great white shark has also appeared
in the scientific literature as Carcharias lamia, Squalus lamia, Carcharias
verus, Squalus lamia, Carcharias rondeletti, Squalus vulgaris, Carcharodon
smithii, Carcharodon rondeletii, Carcharodon capensis, Carcharias atwoodi,
Carcharias vorax, Carcharias maso, Carcharodon albimors.
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
3
Figure 7 - Fossil sharks have been preserved only where the sediments have permitted
rapid burial and there has been little disturbance by currents or scavengers (photograph
by Alessandro De Maddalena, courtesy of the Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia,
Padova).
The first sharks appeared on earth at least 425 million years ago (Martin, 1995).
And from 100 million years ago to today, there have been very limited
evolutionary changes as they were already well adapted to their environment.
The great white shark has very ancient origins. The fossil record of the genus
Carcharodon begins in the Paleocene and runs to the Recent. Carcharodon
orientalis is the oldest taxon recorded in the genus. The extinct megatooth shark
(Carcharodon megalodon) reached a maximum estimated total length of at least
15.90 m and is the largest macropredatory shark to ever live (Gottfried et al.,
1996). Carcharodon carcharias is known to exist since the late Miocene
(Applegate & Espinosa-Arrubarrena, 1996) and is the sole living species of this
genus.
4
An Outline of Biology, Ethology and Ecology
Figure 8 - This photograph allows a comparison of a fossil tooth from the extinct
megatooth shark (Carcharodon megalodon) with a tooth from a present-day great white
shark (photograph by Isabella De Maddalena, courtesy of the British Museum of Natural
History, London).
Among the different languages all over the world, some of the common names
given to the great white shark are: velika bijela psina, pas ljudožder (croatian),
žralok bílý (czech), great white shark, white shark, white pointer, blue pointer,
white death (english), grand requin blanc (french), weisshai, menschenhai
(german), squalo bianco, pescecane (italian), hohojirozame (japanese), tubarão
branco (portuguese), seldevaja akula (russian), žralok biely vel'ký (slovak), beli
morski volk (slovenian), tiburón blanco, jaquetón blanco (spanish) (De
Maddalena & Baensch, 2005; De Maddalena & Hollà, 2006; Ellis & McCosker,
1991; Lipej et al., 2004).
The great white shark is easy to recognize. The massive shape, the tail shaped
like a halfmoon and the big triangular teeth with highly serrated edges make it
unmistakable.
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
5
The body of the great white shark is spindle-shaped, very robust and powerful.
The snout is pointed, conical and big. The eyes are round, big and dark. From
the corner of the mouth depart the lower and upper labial furrows, the first are
longer than the latter.
Figure 9 - The great white shark: a) lateral view; b) ventral view of head; c) ventral view
of pectoral fin; d) first upper and lower teeth; e) dermal denticle or placoid scale
(drawings by Alessandro De Maddalena).
The shape of shark teeth is generally unique for each species, since they are
strictly correlated to its diet. In great white sharks, teeth are big, triangular, have
highly serrated borders and just one cusp; in newborns, teeth may lack serrations
and minute secondary cusps are present on the side of the main cusp (Uchida et
al., 1996). The shape of the teeth is similar in both jaws, but lower teeth are
slightly smaller and narrower. Lower teeth are prominent and even visible when
the shark has its mouth closed; even if, to be precise, in reality the white shark's
mouth is never completely shut. The shape of white shark teeth is most suited to
shear through a marine turtle carapace and to take bites out of very large prey
items such as other sharks or marine mammals. The great white shark's dental
formula is usually 13-13/11-11 and has a variability 12 to 14-12 to 14/10 to 13-
6
An Outline of Biology, Ethology and Ecology
10 to 13 (Cadenat & Blache, 1981).
Figure 10 - In great white sharks, teeth are big, triangular, have highly serrated borders
and just one cusp (photograph courtesy of the Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor
Natuurwetenschappen, Brussels).
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
7
Figure 11 - White shark jaws preserved in the Haus der Natur of Salzburg, Austria
(without cat. no.), from a specimen caught off Perth, Australia, in 1980s (photograph
courtesy of the Haus der Natur, Salzburg).
8
An Outline of Biology, Ethology and Ecology
Teeth are divided in anterior, intermediate, lateral and posterior positions in the
upper jaw, and in anterior, lateral and posterior in the lower jaw (Applegate &
Espinosa-Arrubarrena, 1996). Anterior teeth are longer than others, both in
upper and lower jaws. There are up to seven rows of teeth (De Maddalena,
2000a), but only the first two are functional, the others in the back are
replacements. Shark's teeth are fixed loosely to the jaw and during all their life
they are continuously substituted, the ones from the anterior rows detaching and
the ones from the posterior rows moving forward. The upper jaw in the white
shark, as it appears in many other sharks, can be pushed forward, since it is not
rigidly attached to the rest of the skull.
Figure 12 - Nomenclature used for tooth position, following the methods of Applegate &
Espinosa-Arrubarrena (1996) (drawing by Alessandro De Maddalena).
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
9
Figure 13 – White shark's teeth are fixed loosely to the jaw and during all their life they
are continuously substituted, the ones from the anterior rows detaching and the ones from
the posterior rows moving forward (photograph courtesy of the Muséum d'histoire
naturelle de Grenoble, Grenoble).
White sharks, like many other sharks, have spiracles, located on the sides of the
head, posterior to the eyes and anterior to the gills. Spiracles are a pair of small
openings with a respiratory function where water can enter and flow to the gills
when the animal has the mouth in contact with the bottom of the ocean.
Spiracles are naturally more developed in the benthic species that live close to
the bottom of the ocean, while they are reduced or absent in the pelagic species
that can ventilate the gills simply by swimming with the mouth open. White
sharks belong to this second category, so it is not surprising the fact that they
have very small spiracles. The wide gill openings number five to a side and are
all situated in front of the origin of the pectoral fins; the fifth gill slit is a bit
oblique in comparison to the others, which are parallel.
As in most sharks, white sharks have a pair of pectoral fins, a pair of pelvic fins,
first and second dorsal fins, anal fin and caudal fin. The pectoral fins have a
function of support and stabilization. Also, the dorsal fins, in particular the first
dorsal, and the anal fin, have a stabilizing function. The first dorsal fin origin is
over the pectoral inner margins. The apex of the first dorsal fin can be rounded
in a newborn. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin have similar dimensions,
10
An Outline of Biology, Ethology and Ecology
both very small and the origin of the second dorsal is located a little more
forward than the origin of the anal fin. The pelvic fins, like the pectoral, even if
in a shorter degree, have the function of support and stabilization; pelvic fins in
white sharks are small but bigger than the anal fin.
Figure 14 - The first dorsal fin has a stabilizing function (photograph by Gianluca
Cugini).
The caudal fin is divided into two lobes, upper and lower and has the function of
supplying the propulsive thrust. Sharks don't have swim bladders, the buoyancy
organ that is present in bony fishes. This lack is compensated for by the light
weight of the cartilaginous skeleton, the presence of a large liver, and by the
continuous movement they must maintain to keep afloat. In most shark species
the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin are asymmetrical, the upper flap of
the tail providing lift force to raise the tail and depress the anterior part of the
body and head toward the bottom, a motion counterbalanced by the lift provided
by the flat underside of the snout and the large horizontal paravane-like pectoral
fins. In white sharks, as well as in other Lamnids, the caudal fin is moon-shaped
and symmetrical, providing more power but less of a head-depressing effect,
allowing the snout to be more hydrodynamically conical rather than dorsoventrally flattened (De Maddalena et al., 2005).
Great White Sharks Preserved in European Museums
11
Figure 15 - In white sharks the caudal fin is almost symmetrical, since the upper and
lower lobes are nearly of equal size, and the caudal peduncle is flattened dorso-ventrally
and laterally enlarged to form the caudal keels (photograph by Alessandro De
Maddalena, courtesy of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Genova).
The caudal peduncle is flattened dorso-ventrally and laterally enlarged to form
the caudal keels. There is an unique pair of caudal keels. Precaudal pits are
present on the upper and lower sides of the caudal peduncle, close to the origin
of the caudal fin. All these adaptations, including moon shaped caudal fin,
presence of developed caudal keels, conical snout, have the purpose of helping
the shark attain great speed in swimming.
Shark skin is covered with dermal denticles or placoid scales, which have a
protective function and by reducing friction improve the body hydrodynamics.
These scales have a different shape in every species and in the white shark they
are small and imbricated with 3 keels which form 3 points on the posterior
margin (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948).
12
An Outline of Biology, Ethology and Ecology
Figure 16 - Like most marine animals, white sharks have a darker coloration on the back,
a bit clearer on the flanks and white in the lower parts. This is a chromatic
countershading feature that allows a certain degree of camouflage in the ocean
(photograph by Glauco Micheli).
Like most sharks and many other marine animals, these fishes have a darker
coloration on the back, a bit clearer on the flanks and white in the lower parts:
this is a chromatic countershading feature that allows a certain degree of
camouflage in the ocean, diminishing the possibility of discovering the animal
from the top looking to the bottom of the sea and also from bottom to top. The
coloration is gray-brown in the upper part of the body with a darker dorsal
portion and clearer on the flanks; the lower part of the body is white. There is an
abrupt change from the dark upper area of the body to the white below and there
is not gradual shading like in other shark species. There is a black axillary spot
at the pectoral fin insertions. The ventral area of the pectoral fins is white, with
the exception of a black spot on the apex of the fin. The coloration of newborns
is nearly the same as that of adults.