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Shortfin Mako Shark

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Shortfin mako shark images (Isurus oxyrinchus) - stock photos, illustrations & facts on this speedy, apex predator

Conservation status | Threatened > Endangered
Scientific classification | Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Chondrichthyes > Order: Lamniformes > Family: Lamnidae > Genus: Isurus > Species: I. oxyrinchus
Binomial name | Isurus oxyrinchus

The shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus, is a beautiful shark with a sleek spindle shape, a long conical snout, short pectoral fins and a crescent shaped caudal fin. Shortfin makos have striking coloring with deep purple to indigo dorsal surfaces, silvery sides, and white ventral surfaces. The name mako is a Maori word. Other names commonly attributed include blue pointer, mackerel shark, blue dynamite, bonito shark, spriglio, and paloma.

The shortfin mako is a pelagic species found in offshore temperate and tropical seas worldwide, normally far from land, from the surface down to nearly 500 feet. The closely related longfin mako shark, Isurus paucus, is found in warmer offshore waters, while the shortfin mako will swim lower in warmer oceans, preferring the slightly cooler waters.

They average six to ten feet in length and weigh up to 900 pounds, but have been known as large as 12 feet, with a weight of 2,000 pounds. The shark reproduces by aplacental viviparity, meaning that eggs are retained within the body of the female in a brood chamber where the embryo develops, getting their nourishment from a yolk sac. Developing pups feed on unfertilized eggs in the uterus during the gestation period of 15-18 months. Pups hatch from egg capsules inside the mother's uterus and are born soon afterwards. An average of 4 to 12 pups are born in late winter and early spring and are about 2 feet long at birth.

It is believed that shortfin makos travel long distances to seek prey or mates. A female tagged off California was caught by a research ship in the central Pacific, which means it had migrated over 1,725 miles.

Mako sharks are the fastest swimming sharks, some estimate their speed at up to 60 miles an hour, and are renowned for their ability to leap out of the water - leaps of up to 28 feet have been recorded. Due to its speed and agility, this shark is sought as “game” worldwide. The mako is also fished commercially.

Shortfin mako sharks, Isurus oxyrinchus, feed on some of the worlds fastest schooling tunas and billfish and are considered apex predators. They also feed on squid, dolphins, porpoise, blue sharks, bonito, sea turtles, and mackerels, swordfish, sailfish, and herons.

Worldwide, the shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, with its slow reproductive rate, is a victim of over-harvesting by direct hunting, and by-catch of the tuna and swordfish fishing industries. The desire in some parts of the world for shark fin soup and the flesh of the shortfin mako has lead to a decrease in population numbers.
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