Shortfin mako

Isurus oxyrinchus

Saltwater
Mackerel sharks
Endangered

About

The shortfin mako is a fast, athletic shark built for speed. It can grow to 445 cm long and weigh over 500 kg, roaming warm and temperate seas far from shore in search of fast-moving prey.

Also known as: isurus oxyrinchus, atlantic mako, blue pointer, blue shark, bonito shark, dog shark, longfin mako, mackerel porbeagle, mackerel shark, mako, mako shark, moro shark, pointed nose shark, sharp-nose mackerel shark, sharp-nosed mackerel shark, sharp-nosed shark, sharpnose mackerel shark, short finned mako shark, shortfin mako shark, shortfin shark, snapper shark

Length: 2.7 m · max 4.5 m
Weight: max 506 kg
Depth: 100–150 m

How to tell it apart

Most sharks have a tail with a clearly longer upper lobe. The shortfin mako's tail lobes are close to equal in size instead, a quick way to pick it out from other pelagic sharks cruising the open water.

Appearance

This shark has a sleek, torpedo-shaped body and a sharply pointed snout.

Habitat

The shortfin mako lives far out in open ocean, in temperate and tropical waters worldwide, and rarely strays into water colder than 16 degrees C. It usually stays between about 100 and 150 m deep, but can dive as far down as 750 m.

Behaviour

It hunts by swimming below its prey and lunging upward at speed, tearing chunks from the flank of fish too large to swallow whole. It also travels long distances between feeding grounds and, occasionally, mates.

Diet

Squid and other cephalopods make up much of its diet, along with fast fish such as mackerel, herring, tuna and billfish. Larger makos also take other sharks, porpoises, dolphins, sea turtles and seabirds.

Breeding

Pups develop inside their mother and are born live rather than hatching from an egg case, feeding on unfertilised eggs she produces while they grow. A single litter can be fathered by more than one male.

Is it dangerous?

traumatogenic

Conservation

The shortfin mako is listed as endangered, having been moved up from a lower threat category as numbers have fallen. It is targeted by both sport and commercial fisheries, and is also caught as bycatch in driftnets. Its trade is now regulated internationally.

Did you know?

Its scientific name, Isurus oxyrinchus, was given by naturalist Constantine Rafinesque in 1809 and comes from Ancient Greek words roughly meaning 'equal tail' and 'sharp nose'.