Great white shark

What is a great white shark?

Great whites are the largest of the bunch—and the world’s largest predatory fish.

Great whites are named after their white underbellies, but their topsides can come in a variety of browns and grays. This stark contrast between colorations is known as countershading, and it allows many fish species to blend in with their surroundings. Thanks to the immensely popular 1975 film, Jaws, which starred a massive great white, this species is one of the most recognized sharks on the planet.

Great white teeth

The great white shark’s infamous smile is made up of seven rows of serrated, 2.5-inch-long teeth. While the animals possess around 300 teeth in total, most aren’t used to bite.

Conservation

While many people are familiar with this species because of the movie Jaws, which was inspired by a great white shark in New Jersey, the legendary fish is far less fearsome in reality. In fact, just five people were killed by sharks of any species in 2022—despite more people in the water than ever before.