Prionace glauca, Blue Shark [+]

Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Elasmobranchii Order Carcharhiniformes Family Carcharhinidae Genus Prionace species: Prionace glauca [+ITIS +WoRMS]

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Description & Behavior

The blue shark, Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758), is a large, pelagic, blue-indigo-colored shark. It is a sleek shark with long, pointed fins, a pointed snout, and large eyes. Its elongated caudal fin provides swimming power as the tail moves side-to-side. The blue shark's sleek, tapered body makes it a graceful swimmer. These sharks are among the fastest swimming sharks and are known to leap out of the water. Estimates of their speed varies; some say that they can swim at about 97 kph, while more conservative estimates are about 35 kph. Blue sharks grow to be up to 3.8 m long.

World Range & Habitat

Blue sharks are pelagic; they are found in open waters. Like most pelagic sharks, they are found worldwide. Atlantic blue sharks migrate east across the Atlantic Ocean each year, following the warm Gulf Stream waters. They travel a circuit from the Caribbean Sea, along the coast of the US, east to Europe, south to the African coast and back to the Caribbean. Blue sharks often form large, all-male or all-female schools which contain sharks that are about the same size; the reason for this unique social behavior is unknown.

» GBIF occurrence data in Google Earth [Tips] | Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) (World Distribution) [about]

Feeding Behavior (Ecology)

Blue sharks, Prionace glauca, are opportunistic feeders; however, their favorite meal is squid.

Life History

Blue sharks are viviparous (the young are born live rather than from an egg). Litters consist of 4-135 pups; the number of pups increases as the size of the mother increases. The gestation period is almost 1 year. Females are mature at 5 years old.