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The shortfin mako shark (; ; ''Isurus oxyrinchus''), also known as the blue pointer or bonito shark, is a large
mackerel shark The Lamniformes (, from Greek ''lamna'' "fish of prey") are an order of sharks commonly known as mackerel sharks (which may also refer specifically to the family Lamnidae). It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the gr ...
. It is commonly referred to as the mako shark, as is the longfin mako shark (''Isurus paucus''). The shortfin mako can reach a size of in length and weigh . The species is classified as Endangered by the IUCN.


Etymology

"Mako" comes from the Māori language, meaning either the shark or a shark tooth. Following the Māori language, "mako" in English is both singular and plural. The word may have originated in a
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
al variation, as it is similar to the common words for shark in a number of
Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austro ...
—''makō'' in the Kāi Tahu Māori dialect, ''mangō'' in other Māori dialects, "mago" in Samoan, ''ma'o'' in Tahitian, and ''mano'' in Hawaiian. The first written usage is in Lee and Kendall's ''Grammar and vocabulary of the language of New Zealand'' (1820), which simply states, "Máko; A certain fish". Richard Taylor's ''A leaf from the natural history of New Zealand'' (1848) is more elaborate: "Mako, the shark which has the tooth so highly prized by the Maoris". In 1809, Constantine Rafinesque gave the shortfin mako the scientific name ''Isurus oxyrinchus'' (''
isurus ''Isurus'' is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. Description The two living species are the common shortfin mako shark (''I. oxyrinchus'') and the rare longfin mako shark (''I. paucus''). They ...
'' means "the same tail", ''oxyrinchus'' means "pointy snout").


Description

The shortfin mako shark is a fairly large species of shark. Growth rates appear to be somewhat accelerated in comparison to other species in the lamnid family. An average adult specimen measures around in length and weighs from . The species is
sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
, with females typically larger than males. Large specimens are known, with a few large, mature females exceeding a length of and a weight of .FLMNH Ichthyology Department: Shortfin Mako
Flmnh.ufl.edu. Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
The largest taken on hook-and-line was , caught off the coast of California on June 3, 2013, and the longest verified length was caught off the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
coast of France in September 1973. A specimen caught off the coast of Italy and examined in an Italian fish market in 1881 was reported to weigh an extraordinary at a length of . Yet another fish was caught off Marmaris, Turkey in the late 1950s at an estimated size of between making it the largest known specimen of the species. However, this estimate was created using photos of the shark and not at the time of capture so this estimate must be taken with reasonable caution. The authors did not estimate a weight for this specimen. The shortfin mako shark is cylindrical in shape, with a vertically elongated tail. This species exhibits
countershading Countershading, or Thayer's law, is a method of camouflage in which an animal's coloration is darker on the top or upper side and lighter on the underside of the body. This pattern is found in many species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, a ...
, with brilliant metallic blue coloration dorsally and white ventrally. The line of demarcation between blue and white on the body is distinct. The underside of the snout and the area around the mouth are white. Larger specimens tend to possess darker coloration that extends onto parts of the body that would be white in smaller individuals. The juvenile mako differs in that it has a clear blackish stain on the tip of the snout. The longfin mako shark very much resembles the shortfin mako shark, but has larger pectoral fins, dark rather than pale coloration around the mouth and larger eyes. The presence of only one lateral keel on the tail and the lack of lateral cusps on the teeth distinguish the mako from the closely related porbeagle sharks of the genus ''
Lamna ''Lamna'' is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, containing two extant species: the porbeagle (''L. nasus'') of the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere, and the salmon shark (''L. ditropis'') of the North Pacific. Endothermy T ...
''.


Ecology


Range and habitat

The shortfin mako inhabits offshore
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
and
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
seas worldwide. The closely related longfin mako shark is found in the Gulf Stream or warmer offshore waters (e.g. New Zealand and Maine). It is a
pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...
species that can be found from the surface to depths of , normally far from land, though occasionally closer to shore, around islands or inlets. One of the very few known
endothermic In thermochemistry, an endothermic process () is any thermodynamic process with an increase in the enthalpy (or internal energy ) of the system.Oxtoby, D. W; Gillis, H.P., Butler, L. J. (2015).''Principle of Modern Chemistry'', Brooks Cole. ...
sharks, it is seldom found in waters colder than . In the western
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, it can be found from Argentina and the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
to Browns Bank off of
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
. In Canadian waters, these sharks are neither abundant nor rare. Swordfish are good indicators of shortfin mako populations, as the former are a source of food and prefer similar environmental conditions. Shortfin mako sharks travel long distances to seek prey or mates. In December 1998, a female tagged off
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
was captured in the central Pacific by a Japanese research vessel, meaning this fish traveled over . Another specimen swam in 37 days, averaging a day.


Feeding

The shortfin mako shark feeds mainly upon cephalopods and bony fish including mackerels,
tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...
s, bonitos, and swordfish, but it may also eat other sharks, porpoises,
sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...
s, and
seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s. They hunt by lunging vertically up and tearing off chunks of their preys' flanks and fins. Mako swim below their prey, so they can see what is above and have a high probability of reaching prey before it notices them. In Ganzirri and Isola Lipari,
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, shortfin mako have been found with
amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...
swordfish bills impaled into their head and gills, suggesting swordfish seriously injure and likely kill them. In addition, this location, and the late spring and early summer timing, corresponding to the swordfish's
spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...
cycle, suggests they hunt while the swordfish are most vulnerable, typical of many predators. Shortfin mako sharks consume 3% of their weight each day and take about 1.5–2.0 days to digest an average-sized meal. By comparison, the
sandbar shark The sandbar shark (''Carcharhinus plumbeus'') also known as the brown shark or thickskin shark, is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, native to the Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific. It is distinguishable by it ...
, an inactive species, consumes 0.6% of its weight a day and takes 3 to 4 days to digest it. An analysis of the stomach contents of 399 male and female mako sharks ranging from suggest mako from
Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...
to the
Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...
prefer
bluefish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...
, constituting 77.5% of their diet by volume. The average capacity of the stomach was 10% of the total weight. Shortfin mako sharks consumed 4.3% to 14.5% of the available bluefish between
Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...
and
Georges Bank Georges Bank (formerly known as St. Georges Bank) is a large elevated area of the sea floor between Cape Cod, Massachusetts (United States), and Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia (Canada). It separates the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean. T ...
. Shortfin mako sharks over have interior teeth considerably wider and flatter than smaller mako, which enables them to prey effectively upon
dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s, swordfish, and other sharks. An amateur videotape, taken in Pacific waters, shows a moribund pantropical spotted dolphin whose tail was almost completely severed being circled by a shortfin mako. Mako also tend to scavenge long-lined and netted fish. The bite of a shortfin mako shark is exceptionally strong; the current record for the strongest bite measured for any shark belongs to a shortfin mako that was recorded at Mayor Island in New Zealand in 2020. The shark had been coaxed into biting a custom-made "bite meter" as part of an experiment to measure mako bite force. The strongest bite recorded during the experiment was roughly 3,000 lbs. of force, or roughly 13,000 newtons. Its endothermic constitution partly accounts for its relatively great speed. Like other lamnid sharks, the shortfin mako shark has a heat-exchange
circulatory system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
that allows the shark to be warmer than the surrounding water. This system enables them to maintain a stable, very high level of activity, giving it an advantage over its cold-blooded prey.


Behavior

The shortfin mako is a fast species that can leap into the air when hooked, making it a highly sought-after
game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...
worldwide. Some cases of shortfin mako jumping into a boat after having been hooked have been reported.


Reproduction

The shortfin mako shark is a yolk-sac
ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...
shark giving birth to live young. Developing embryos feed on unfertilized eggs (
oophagy Oophagy ( ) sometimes ovophagy, literally "egg eating", is the practice of embryos feeding on eggs produced by the ovary while still inside the mother's uterus. The word oophagy is formed from the classical Greek (, "egg") and classical Greek (, ...
) within the uterus during the 15- to 18-month gestation period. They do not engage in sibling cannibalism unlike the
sand tiger shark The sand tiger shark (''Carcharias taurus''), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy sho ...
(''Carcharias taurus''). The four to 18 surviving young are born live in the late winter and early spring at a length of about . Females may rest for 18 months after birth before mating again. Shortfin mako sharks bear young on average every three years. A common mating strategy of shortfin mako sharks has been documented as using multiple paternity as a mating strategy, known as polyandry. Polyandry is where the females mate with more than one male. This strategy is used to have a single brood sired by multiple males (multiple paternity) and is a common strategy in diverse taxa, including invertebrates and vertebrates.


Lifespan

Shortfin mako sharks, as with most other sharks, are aged by sectioning vertebrae – one of the few bony structures in sharks – and counting growth bands. The age of shortfin mako, and therefore important parameters, such as age at sexual maturity and longevity, were severely underestimated until 2006 (e.g. claims of sexual maturity at 4–6 years, claims of longevity as low as 11 years), because of a poorly supported belief that shortfin mako sharks deposited two growth bands per year in their vertebrae. This belief was overturned by a landmark study which proved that shortfin mako sharks only deposit one band in their vertebrae per year, as well as providing validated ages for numerous specimens. Natanson et al. (2006) aged 258 shortfin mako specimens and recorded: * Maximum age of 29 years in males ( fork length (FL)) * Maximum age of 32 years in females ( FL) * 50% sexual maturity at 8 years in males ( FL) * 50% sexual maturity at 18 years in females ( FL) Similar, validated age findings were made (median age at maturity in males 7–9 years, median age at maturity in females 19–21 years, longevity estimates 29 years and 28 years respectively) in New Zealand waters. Due to this error, fishery management models and ecological risk assessment models in use around the world were underestimating both the longevity and the age at sexual maturity in shortfin mako sharks, particularly in females, by two-thirds or more (i.e. 6 years versus 18+ years), and some of these inaccurate models remain in use.


Intelligence

Of all studied sharks, the shortfin mako has one of the largest brain-to-body ratios. This large brain size prompted New Zealand Sealife Australia and New Zealand senior curator Craig Thorburn of Auckland, New Zealand, and film-maker Mike Bhana to investigate the intelligence of the shortfin mako. From tests involving shape differentiation to electroreception tests and individual recognition, Isuru Somawardana and his team of shark experts discovered shortfin mako are fast-learning sharks, able to determine whether or not the researchers were threatening. The sharks involved in the study (while never the same individuals) after initial caution showed unique and novel behaviors, such as refusing to roll back their eyes during feeding and allowing themselves to be briefly restrained and touched while being offered bait. Shortfin mako also do not rely on electroreception when hunting, unlike the
great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...
, based on tests involving wired fiberglass fish designed to emit weak electrical signals resembling real fish of similar size. Instead, they rely on smell, hearing, and most prominently, vision. The results of this research were featured on a documentary presented by
Shark Week Shark Week is an annual, week long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel, which features shark-based programming. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988. Featured annually, in July or early August, it was originally devoted to c ...
in 1999 called ''Mako: Swift, Smart & Deadly''.


Relationship with humans


Fishing for sport

Mako fishing is a prominent activity around the world. As one of the fastest species in the water they offer acrobatic flips, fast runs, and heavy fights that entertain anglers. Traditionally, the sharks are hooked through the use of chum and baitcasters; however, fly fishing for them has become more popular, particularly in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, where one of the three known worldwide mako rookeries is located. A cottage industry of fishing in this
rookery A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals ( true seals and sea lions), and ...
has emerged, specifically catch and release with charter operations out of Mission Bay. For many years the mass commercial boats hunted them for restaurant catch, but through the efforts of many local fishing companies and national organizations such as Orvis, this has been curbed.


Captivity

Of all recorded attempts to keep
pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...
shark species in captivity, the shortfin mako shark has fared the poorest, even more so than the
oceanic whitetip shark The oceanic whitetip shark (''Carcharhinus longimanus''), also known as shipwreck shark, Brown Milbert's sand bar shark, brown shark, lesser white shark, nigano shark, oceanic white-tipped whaler, and silvertip shark, is a large pelagic requiem ...
, the blue shark, and the
great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...
. At
SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. SeaWorld San Diego ...
, a shortfin mako shark ability test failed in the early 1970s. In the summer of 1978, two mako sharks caught off the coast of San Diego failed to evade the wall and both died within three days. The current record is held by a specimen kept at the New Jersey Aquarium for only five days in 2001. Like past attempts at keeping ''Isurus'' in captivity, the animal appeared strong on arrival, but had trouble negotiating the walls of the aquarium, refused to feed, quickly weakened, and died.


Attacks on humans

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...
statistics records 9 shortfin attacks on humans between 1580 and 2022, three of which were fatal, along with 20 boat attacks. This mako is regularly blamed for attacks on humans and, due to its speed, power, and size, it is certainly capable of injuring and killing people. However, this species will not generally attack humans and does not seem to treat them as prey. Most modern attacks involving shortfin mako sharks are considered to have been provoked due to harassment or the shark being caught on a fishing line.''Isurus oxyrinchus'' Shortfin Mako Shark
marinebio.org
Sharks can be attracted to spear fishermen carrying a stuck fish, and may slap them with cavitation bubbles from a swift tail flick. Divers who have encountered shortfin mako note, prior to an attack, they swim in a figure-eight pattern and approach with mouths open.


Conservation

The shortfin mako is currently classified as
Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
by the IUCN, having been uplisted from Vulnerable in 2019 and
Near-Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...
in 2007. The species is included on Appendix II of
CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
which regulates international trade. The species is being targeted by both sport and commercial fisheries, and there is a substantial proportion of bycatch in driftnet fisheries for other species. In June 2018, the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the shortfin mako shark as "Not Threatened" with the qualifier "Uncertain whether Secure Overseas" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. In 2019, the shortfin mako was reclassified by the IUCN from being listed as "Vulnerable" to "Endangered" after a review of 58 elasmobranch species.


See also

* List of common commercial fish of Sri Lanka


References


External links

*ARKive �
images and movies of the shortfin mako ''(Isurus oxyrinchus)''
*
Shark references.com: ''Isurus oxyrinchus''
{{Authority control Fish described in 1810 Fish of Cuba Fish of Israel Fish of New Zealand Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Dominican Republic Fish of the Pacific Ocean Isurus Ovoviviparous fish Species endangered by sport fishing and hunting Species endangered by use as food Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque