Blue Shark
Species Facts
Science Name: Prionace glauca
Other Names: great blue shark, bluedog
Size: Over 400 pounds and 13 feet.
World Record: 239.49 kg (528 lb 0 oz)
Distribution and Habitat

The blue shark is the most widely distributed animal in the world. It is an oceanic and epipelagic shark found worldwide in deep temperate and tropical waters from the surface to about 350 meters.[6] In temperate seas it may approach shore where it can be observed by divers, while in tropical waters it inhabits greater depths. It lives as far north as Norway and as far south as Chile. Blue sharks are found off the coasts of every continent, except Antarctica. Its greatest Pacific concentrations occur between 20° and 50° North but with strong seasonal fluctuations. In the tropics it spreads evenly between 20° N and 20° S. It prefers waters with a temperature range of 7–16 °C (45–61 °F) but will tolerate temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F) or above. Records from the Atlantic show a regular clockwise migration within the prevailing currents.

Sources

1.^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Chondrichthyes entry)". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: 560. http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=575&rank=class. Retrieved 2008-01-09. 2.^ IUCN (2007-02-22). "More oceanic sharks added to the IUCN Red List". Press release. http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2007/02/22_pr_sharks.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-25. "The blue shark, the world’s most abundant and heavily fished pelagic shark, stayed in the threat category Near Threatened." 3.^ Stevens (2000). Prionace glauca. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. 4.^ Large blue sharks 5.^ a b c d Leonard J. V. Compagno (1984). Sharks of the World: An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. pp. 521–524, 555 – 61, 590. 6.^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Prionace glauca" in FishBase. 9 2006 version. 7.^ Scholz, Euzet & Moravec 1998 8.^ ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark 9.^ Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) in Captivity