This is a fairly large shark, a member of the herring family.Otherwise, it is called bonito, chernorylaya, mackerel and sandbar shark.In Latin - Isurus oxyrinchus.Scientists believe that it is a descendant of ancient species Isurus hastilus, whose members reached six meters in length and weighed about three tons.This kind of shark existed in the Cretaceous along with plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs.
Mako considered dangerous to humans, as is one of the most aggressive sharks.She does not let almost any prey and attack, even when full.Jaws shark mako - lethal weapons, the very same fish develops great speed, so is considered one of the most dangerous sea predators.
Description
There are two types of mako sharks - and korotkoplavnikovaya dlinnoplavnikovaya.Both are equally dangerous for humans.Fish are almost identical, differ only in the size of the fins.Mako shark sometimes reaches four meters in length and weigh up to 400-500 kg.Females are larger than males, the largest instance of French fishermen caught in 1973.It weighed about a ton and reaching a length of four and a half meters.The exact life expectancy is not known, researchers believe that it reaches 15-25 years.
shark's body is cylindrical in shape.The belly is white, the top skin of dark blue color.The mako shark is older so it has darker color.The muzzle is pointed, slightly stretched forward.Its lower part is also white.Young animals can be distinguished by a bright pronounced black spot at the end of the muzzle, which disappears with age.His eyes are big mako.The dorsal fin is a large front, in the back a little.Pectoral fins are of medium size, and its tail resembles a crescent shape.The teeth are bent backwards and are very sharp.Such a structure is tenacious jaws helps to keep the prey.
Reproduction mako shark
refers to live-bearing fish species.Puberty in females begins when their body grows up to 2.7 meters in males this indicator - 1.9 m. The gestation period is 15 months, the embryos in the uterus feed on unfertilized eggs.In the light appears to 18 fry, which reach a length of about 70 cm. The Cubs already exist on their own after birth.The interval between mating - 1.5-2 years.
Habitat
shark inhabits the waters of the tropical and temperate seas.The main areas of its distribution:
- Indo-Pacific;
- Pacific (north-east);
- Atlantic.
extensive area of distribution: southern boundary is near New Zealand and Argentina, northern - in the area of Nova Scotia.Mako is rarely found in waters with temperatures below 16 degrees, and then you can see it only in places where the lives of its favorite food - swordfish.This shark swims at a depth of 150 m and is trying to stay close to the surface.
maximum speed of mako sharks in the attack
torpedo-shaped body contributes to the swiftness of this fish.Speed mako sharks in the attack on the extraction of up to 60 km / h.Fish is able to jump above the water surface of up to six meters in height.These qualities demonstrate the fact that one of the most dangerous predators in the deep sea is just mako shark.It develops its speed due to the shape of the body and a good circulatory system.Unlike other sharks, mako muscle permeated a large number of capillaries and blood circulation is constantly fueled.Therefore, they can quickly be reduced and facilitate the recruitment of high speed.
This feature sharks quickly depletes its energy reserves, so the fish are very voracious and constantly in need of high-calorie food.Mako is interested in everything he sees in its path, whether it is a living organism or inanimate object.In 90% of cases out of 100, she is trying to taste all that see it.However, this applies more to fish than to people.
attack on human
itself mako shark is considered to be potentially dangerous.In most cases the fish does not see man as food, but there are exceptions.Mako shark attack on a man sometimes.But most of the blame for this is the man himself.Over the past few decades it has officially recorded 42 attacks resulted in deaths of eight of them.In most cases, a shark attacked the fishermen, who were trying to catch her.Sometimes it attacked the boat.In the latter situation also blame the people themselves, who were fishing in front of the nose of the shark, thus provoking it to attack.
Nutrition and behaviors
mako feeds mainly big fish: mackerel, tuna, and so on. D. The favorite food is her sword fish, which can reach three meters in length and weigh up to 600 kilograms.That is, they are virtually identical dimensions.Swordfish comes into confrontation with the shark, but almost never wins, as mako very energetic and strong.
Predator prefers to attack from below and biting prey in the caudal fin.It was at this point is the end of the spine and major joints.Thus, mako shark, whose photos can be seen in this article, paralyze their prey and make it helpless.About 70% of food predators - tuna, but it does not shrink from the dolphins and their other counterparts, which are smaller in size.A curious fact: tuna capable of speeds up to 70 km / h, but it catches up with the shark due to its lightning-fast start.Mako accelerates to 60 km / h in just 2 seconds.
enemies and friends
friends at this little predator.Mark may be fish-cleaners, stuck and pilots.The first help all predators to get rid of various parasites that attach to the fins and feed on skin secretions.As for the enemy, they have virtually no mako.Shark tries to avoid only their larger counterparts and schooling fish.For example, if the dolphin itself may become a prey, their flock is able to ward off a predator from their places of habitat.
Fishing
intentional catching of this fish is not conducted, sometimes she comes across a network, chasing prey.However, it may be noted mako tasty meat.This shark, as well as all kinds of herring, good food.But the special value are some of the internal organs and fins.The liver is a delicacy of this predator.
Although Mako is not a commercial fish, but it is of interest to so-called "hunter-athletes."Predator until recently fighting for his life, what brings a lot of emotions to people, trying to catch her.This "sport" is deadly.
documented cases when mako shark approached very close to the beach, and it was shot from a harpoon gun.Fish released from lightning arrows and attacked.She jumped right on the sand and tried to grab the gunman in her person.He was lucky that nothing happened.
most terrible tragedy, which involved mako shark, a photo which you can see in this article, occurred around the Australian coast in the middle of the XX century.Four fishermen fished peacefully, while in a large boat.Suddenly, they were attacked by a pack of mako.People have attempted to sail to the shore, but one side of the boat predator rammed through and fishermen were in the water.Only one was able to safely get to the land, tore and ate the rest of the bloodthirsty mako.
On this occasion, there was much debate and expressed a lot of versions explaining the behavior of sharks.Most inclined to believe that people do themselves provoked the attack because fished in front of the noses of the feeding predators, and this aroused their anger and aggression.
