AnimalvsAnimal
Blauhai (128648419) (cropped)🦈

Photo: Marion Kraschl · CC BY 3.0

SpeciesCarcharhiniformesCarcharhinidae
Sharks & rays

🦈Blue shark

Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758)

The blue shark, also known as the great blue shark, is a species of requiem shark in the family Carcharhinidae which inhabits deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans. It is the only living species of genus Prionace. An extinct species, P. clarki, is known from teeth from California of the Late Pliocene. Averaging around 3.1 m (10 ft) and preferring cooler waters, the blue shark migrates long distances, such as from New England to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
23
Photos
5
Measurements
8
vs you
≈ 1.8× your weight
Also called
Prionace glauca
Conservation status
NTNear threatened

IUCN Red List assessment, 2019.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
113 kg
Body length
3.35 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
20 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Blue shark

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
113 kgrecord 206 kg · FishBase
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Body length
3.35 mrecord 4 m · FishBasetypical adult
FishBase
Details ↓

Record: largest individual on record

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Maximum lifespan
20 yearsrecord 20 years · FishBase
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Litter size
about 30
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Trophic level
4.35
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0

Diet
carnivoreaverage
Details ↓

From trophic level 4.35 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.

Danger to humans
traumatogenic
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Volume l
113 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Blue shark yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classElasmobranchii
  4. ›orderCarcharhiniformes
  5. ›familyCarcharhinidae
  6. ›genusPrionace
  7. ›speciesPrionace glauca
Full lineage
  1. superclassGnathostomata
  2. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  3. subclassElasmobranchii
  4. genusPrionace
All 8 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  7. subclassElasmobranchii
  8. genusPrionace
More

More about the Blue shark

In other languages
blåhai (nb), Blauhai (de), blåhaj (sv), 大青鲨 (zh), żarłacz błękitny (pl), Requin bleu (fr) … and 25 more languages
More photos
Blauhai (128648419) (cropped)Tiburón azul (Prionace glauca), canal Fayal Pico, islas Azores, Portugal, 2020 07 27, DD 14Blahaj
All 5 photos in the gallery →

Animals caught on camera

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Tree of life

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