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Science 13 July 1973:
Vol. 181. no. 4095, pp. 169 - 170
DOI: 10.1126/science.181.4095.169
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Articles

Size of the Great White Shark (Carcharodon)

John E. Randall 1

1 Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818

The maximum length of 36.5 feet (11.1 meters) attributed to the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) by Günther and others is a mistake. Examination of the jaws and teeth of the specimen referred to by Günther and comparison with the jaws of white sharks of known length revealed a length of about 17 feet (sim5 meters). The largest white shark reliably measured was a 21-foot (6.4-meter) individual from Cuba. Bites on whale carcasses found off southern Australia suggest that white sharks as long as 25 or 26 feet (7 frac12 or 8 meters) exist today. The size of extinct Carcharodon has also been grossly exaggerated. Based on a projection of a curve of tooth size of Recent Carcharodon carcharias, the largest fossil Carcharodon were about 43 feet (sim13 meters) long.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)