Great White Shark Classification and Evolution
The Great White Shark is a large species of shark found mainly found inhabiting the temperate and tropical coastal waters worldwide. They are the largest predatory fish species in the world known to grow to lengths of 8 meters or more and weighing over 2 tonnes. Great White Sharks are hugely powerful predators that have developed a fearsome reputation as being one of the most prolific "man-eaters" on the planet, with up to half of annual shark attacks on humans being reportedly caused by them. Also known as White Sharks and White Pointer Sharks, Great White Sharks have been one of the most ruthless ocean predatory fishes for nearly 20 million years, but despite their high profile reputation, they are actually a lot less common compared to other widely distributed shark species. Although surprisingly little is still known about their biology and population sizes, it is widely agreed within the scientific community that Great White Shark population numbers are decreasing worldwide as they are threatened by both hunting and habitat loss throughout much of their natural range.