Lamnidae

Mackerel sharks
Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous–recent [1]
Great white shark
Carcharodon carcharias
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Lamnidae
J. P. Müller and Henle, 1838
Extant genera
Extinct genera; see text

The Lamnidae are the family of mackerel sharks known as white sharks.[2] They are large, fast-swimming predatory fish found in oceans worldwide, though they prefer environments with colder water. The name of the family is formed from the Greek word lamna, which means "fish of prey", and was derived from the Greek legendary creature, the Lamia.[3]

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

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ McEachran, J.; Fechhelm, J.D. (1998). Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Vol. 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-292-75206-1. OCLC 38468784. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  3. ^ ISBN 9781258302863: A source-book of biological names and terms, 1944, Edmund Carroll Jaeger