Blue Shark – Prionace glauca

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The Blue Shark is a species in the family of Carcharhinidae and thus belongs to the subclass of the Elasmobranchii. Prionace glauca was first described by Linnaeus in 1758.

In the article Sharks in the Canary Islands you will find more species and information about the top hunters of the seas.

Description, Characteristics & Anatomy

The Blue Shark has a very slender, elongated body. The back and flanks are blue, while the belly is white. Both colours are separated by a fairly clear line.

Characteristic are the first dorsal fin standing far back and its long, sickle-shaped pectoral fins.

Also striking are his completely black eyes.

Prionace glauca can grow up to 3.8m long and weighs up to 205kg.

Habitat, Distribution & Occurrence

The Blue Shark lives in the open water, far from the coast and makes dives down to 350m depth.

Since there are no offers for scuba diving on the high seas on the Canary Islands and the success would certainly also be rather moderate, one does not actually see Prionace glauca.

Its general range extends over all tropical to temperate sea areas, although it prefers the cooler zones. In summer it is also a guest in the North Sea.

Biology & Feeding

The Blue Shark is of course a hunter and prefers bony fish, cephalopods or other small sharks. However, it is also a prey animal for other larger sharks.

Associated Species

References

Image References

  • https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Prionace_glauca_1.jpg
  • By – www.iucnredlist.org, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link – Verbreitungsgebiet des Blauhais.

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