Sharks can be found in each of the oceans, as well as in large seas, where there are conditions for their life, enough space and food. Moreover, they are much more ancient than humans and inhabited the sea even in the days of dinosaurs. The mechanism of their hunting, the structure of the body turned out to be so perfect that since then, sharks have practically not undergone any significant changes. Today there are not only predatory sharks - there are those that feed on plankton.
But which of them are the largest? Having examined modern sharks, you can easily find the largest of them. Not all of them are predatory, however, in size and weight they are not deprived in any case.
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead shark is distributed over the oceans of the entire planet, it successfully adapts to a variety of living conditions. However, despite all the successes in adaptation, there are not too many of these fish left; they need protection. The weight of an adult can reach 844 kg, with a length of 5-6 meters. This is an active predator that rarely encroaches on humans. It is also worth noting that these are the strangest sharks, the structure of their head is unique and really resembles a hammer. And this fish is distinguished by beautiful fins.
Tiger shark
This shark is also a predator, it attacks any marine life that is in its reach and is suitable in size. According to statistics, it is these sharks that attack a person most often, they are considered the most dangerous for vacationers on the beach. This shark loves warmth, lives in all oceans where there are tropical waters.Its weight reaches 939 kg, in length they can reach 7.5 meters. The striped color of these sharks, which really resemble cats, is noteworthy. Also, these sharks are called leopard.
Bowhead shark
Cold-loving sharks grow - huge, for example, the Greenland sharks. This species prefers to live in the Atlantic Ocean, adhering to the environs of Greenland, Iceland. They live at a depth, it is almost impossible to meet such a fish on or near the surface. They are rare. This fish has poisonous meat, which excludes food interest in it from humans. The weight of an individual is about 1020 kg, length 4-6 meters. But there are much larger two-ton specimens. Ammonia and other substances that make fish meat poisonous, ensure the maintenance of normal metabolism and prevent freezing of blood.
Great White Shark
White sharks are found everywhere, except for the Arctic Ocean and territories near Antarctica, since they do not like extremely cold waters. They strive to stay in coastal surface waters, hunting not only fish, but also mammals. White sharks can even attack whales. The sizes of adults can exceed 5, 6 meters, weight reaches one and a half tons.
Giant shark
The huge herbivorous shark, which filters plankton, can reach 9-10 meters, while females are larger than males. They are gaining enormous weight, which can reach 4 tons. Creatures love a temperate climate, winter in shelf waters, live in all the oceans of the planet.In the past, these sharks were obtained by humans, but today the species has gained the status of a protected one. Such giants do not need to hunt - they swim with their mouths open, filtering the water - an hour shark can filter 2000 tons of it. Her teeth are small, bent back. She does not pay attention to people, aggression against divers is excluded.
The biggest shark in the world
The largest shark in the world is the largest whale shark.. She also does not eat flesh, does not hunt. Its main task is filtering, slowly moving in the water, passing water through it. Whale sharks grow to 12 meters or more, the weight of an individual can be about 21 tons. Fish love warm waters, they need room. Huge sharks feed not only on crustaceans or algae, but also on fish, which can also fall into their mouth. To date, the extinction of these giants is not threatened. And the largest whale shark found by man weighed 21 tons, the longest one had a height of 12.19 meters.
Biggest shark ever
It would seem, here it is, a list of the largest and heaviest sharks that are available in the oceans. But I would not want to end on this, because I want to tell you something else about large sharks. Scientists around the world find huge teeth of a predatory shark, which are 3 or more times larger than the teeth of a large white one. This is megalodon, and fortunately, it has died out for a long time. The size of the population of this predator in the past is already indicated by the fact that these teeth are found everywhere, they were found even in the Mariana Trench.
Whale bones with traces of these teeth are also found, but few other remains are found. After all, sharks are cartilaginous fish, and only teeth remain strong bones in their skeletons.But the appearance of megalodon was still able to be restored, the shark turned out to be truly huge. At the time of the dinosaurs, she definitely had something to eat, but in the future the species became extinct. The largest modern shark is the whale, which feeds on plankton, and of the predatory sharks, the largest is the large white.
