Classification / Names
Common names from other countries
Main reference
Size / Weight / Age
Max length : 400 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); common length : 335 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 205.9 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 20 years (Ref. 27347)
Length at first maturity
Lm 206.2, range 170 - 221 cm
Environment
Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 1000 m (Ref. 89422), usually 80 - 220 m (Ref. 55193)
Climate / Range
Subtropical; 7°C - 21°C (Ref. 244), preferred 25°C (Ref. 107945); 66°N - 55°S, 180°W - 180°E
Distribution
Circumglobal in temperate and tropical waters. Western Atlantic: Newfoundland, Canada to Argentina. Central Atlantic. Eastern Atlantic: Norway to South Africa, including the Mediterranean. Indo-West Pacific: East Africa to Indonesia, Japan, Australia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: Gulf of Alaska to Chile. Probably the widest ranging chondrichthyian. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions
Short description
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 0;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 0. A slim, graceful blue shark with a long, conical snout, large eyes, and curved triangular upper teeth with saw edges; pectorals long and narrow; no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Dark blue dorsally, bright blue on the sides, white ventrally (Ref. 5578). Tips of pectoral fins and anal fin dusky (Ref. 9997).
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index
PD50 = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)
Trophic Level
4.4 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (rm=0.031; K=0.16; tm=6; tmax=20; Fec=4-135)
Vulnerability
Very high vulnerability (77 of 100)
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