Lamnidae

Lamnidae is a family of sharks, commonly known as mackerel sharks or white sharks. They are large, fast-swimming sharks, found in oceans worldwide.

These sharks have pointed snouts, spindle-shaped bodies, and large gill openings. The first dorsal fin is large, high, erect and angular or somewhat rounded. The second dorsal and anal fins are minute. The caudal peduncle has one or two distinct keels. The teeth are large. The fifth gill opening is in front of the pectoral fin and spiracles are sometimes absent. They are heavily-built sharks, sometimes weighing nearly twice as much as sharks of comparable length from other families. Many in the family are among the fastest-swimming fish, although the massive Carcharodon are slower due to their great size.

Genera and species

The family contains five living species in three genera:

Genus Carcharodon Smith, 1838
Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758)
Megalodon shark, Carcharodon megalodon (Agassiz, 1843) †
Genus Isurus Rafinesque, 1810
Shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810)
Longfin mako, Isurus paucus (Guitart Manday, 1966)
Isurus retroflexus †
Isurus desori †
Isurus escheri †
Isurus planus
Broad-toothed mako, Isurus hastalis
Genus Lamna Cuvier, 1816
Salmon shark, Lamna ditropis (Hubbs & Follett, 1947)
Porbeagle, Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Translation

The word "Lamnidae" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Slovak.

Translation(s) in other languages: German: Makrelenhaie, Hebrew: עמלצים, Hungarian: Heringcápafélék, Japanese: ネズミザメ科, Polish: Lamnowate, Russian: Сельдевые акулы, Swedish: Håbrandshajar, Chinese: 鼠鲨科.