Lamnidae
Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias )
The mackerel sharks ( Lamnidae ) family is distributed worldwide and is tart from three genera with five species, the most famous of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias ) is. All have in common is the streamlined body shape that makes them fast swimmers. This is facilitated additionally by side keels at the base of the tail fin, which have no notch, and a system ( rete mirabile - " miraculous net" ) of capillary vessels, as it keeps the temperature stable.
All mackerel sharks have a very pointed muzzle, very dark eyes and relatively large pectoral fins. All species are ovoviviparous, meaning that although they form eggs, but these will be hatched in the womb of the mother, which frequently occur intrauterine cannibalism ( Oophagie ).
All mackerel sharks can maintain their body temperature above that of the surrounding seawater. They have a vascular system, a fine network of veins ( miracle network or rete mirabilis ), which warms up the cold coming from the gills with the warm blood coming from the body blood. This increase in body temperature allows very high swimming speeds, and in the case of the great white shark, which possesses a very efficient heat exchange system, the hunt for the people living in colder regions of marine mammals.
A fossil- handed nature of this family is the Megalodon ( Carcharocles megalodon ) from the Miocene and Lower Pleistocene before 5 to 1.6 million years ago. It is the largest known shark of Earth's history - on average it reached a length of 12 to 14 meters.
System
- Carcharodon Smith, 1838 Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias ) (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Megalodon ( Carcharocles megalodon ) ( Agassiz, 1843)
- Shortfin mako ( Isurus oxyrinchus ) ( Rafinesque, 1810)
- Longfin mako ( Isurus paucus ) ( Guitart Manday, 1966)