Kingdom: Animalia 

Phylum: Chordate

Class: Chondrichthyes 

Family: Lamnidae

Order: Lamniformes

Genus: White Sharks

Species: Carcharodon Carcharias

Subspecies: Mako Sharks, Porbeagle, Salmon Sharks

Time of existence: More than 400 million years

Closest living relative: Mako Sharks 

2 Ancestors: Megalodon, Mako Sharks.

Great White Sharks (Carcharodon Carcharias) are large bulky fishes with a body shaped like a blunt torpedo. They have a sharply pointed conical snout, large pectoral and dorsal fins, and a strong crescent shaped tail. Key characteristics of the species include a distinctive white belly and slate-gray upper body.

Great white sharks have one of the widest geographic ranges of any marine animal. They are found in all cold temperate and tropical waters, from 60°N latitude to 60°S latitude. These sharks have been documented to depths of 1,200 meters. Great White Sharks live in almost all coastal and offshore waters which have water temperatures between 54 and 75 degrees farenheight. 

Great white sharks are globally distributed with concentrations near South Africa, Australia/New Zealand, the North Atlantic, and Northeastern Pacific.

Great White Sharks eat mainly seals and sea lions. 

They only hunt once every few days.

Using their dark dorsal colors to help them blend in while cruising near rocky bottoms, they watch for unsuspecting seals on the surface above. When an animal is sighted, they accelerate quickly to the surface and ram into their prey, simultaneously stunning it and taking a large bite. They then return to feed on the carcass.

Great White Sharks mate once every two years. They typically have a different mate each time they mate. The time of year for mating is thought to be between spring and summer, however this has never been witnessed and is unknown to this day. During copulation, a male shark uses its teeth to hold the female (who has much thicker skin), then uses its claspers to internally fertilize the female. Great White Sharks haven average of 2 to 10 pups per litter. However, there have been litters seen with up to 17 pups.

Stages of development: Pups, Young of the Year, Juveniles, Subadults, Adults.

Great White Sharks reach sexual maturity when about 10 years of age and 3.5 to 4 meters in length.

The biggest difference between male and female Great White Sharks is the size difference. Females tend to be 4.6 to 4.9 meters (15 to 16 feet) long while males only tend to be 3.4 to 4 meters (11 to 13 feet) long. Another key difference between male and females are the claspers. 

Great White Shark numbers are decreasing and are rare due to years of being hunted by man for fins and teeth, and often as a trophy for sport fishing. 

As of right now, there is no evidence that sexual competition exists amongst Great White Sharks.

Scientists have known for over 150 years that sharks can get cancer, but this is not a major cause of death among Great Whites.

The major reasons for the White Sharks population decline is because of increased fishing pressure for the food source for these sharks as well as the sharks themselves. 

The only competition that exists among Great White Sharks is for food. It is possible for these sharks to work together when hunting and share the spoils, but if it comes down to life or death, White Sharks are cannibals, and will eat its own kind to survive, like every shark species. 

The only real competition outside of its own species that exists for Great White Sharks is the Killer Whale. Killer Whales off the coast of South Africa are killing Great White Sharks and eating their livers. 

The main species affecting the White Shark is man. This is because of overfishing its food source, and the sharks themselves. 

Great White Sharks are currently listed as Vulnerable.

The current Great White Shark population is around 3,500.

The overall population of Great White Sharks has been decreasing over the years due humans overfishing its food source, trophy fishing the sharks themselves and being killed by killer whales for their livers. 

The impacts humans have had on the Great White Shark population have been devastating. The numbers of White Sharks killed due to overfishing, trophy fishing, and poaching.

The potential future impacts could result in driving White Sharks to critically endangered, and eventually, maybe even extinct.

Humans and Great White Sharks have been interacting for hundreds of years. These sharks were originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.