Isurus
Isurus is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks.
Isurus | |
---|---|
Shortfin mako shark (I. oxyrinchus) | |
Longfin mako shark (I. paucus) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes |
Order: | Lamniformes |
Family: | Lamnidae |
Genus: | Isurus Rafinesque, 1810 |
Type species | |
Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810 | |
Synonyms | |
|
Description
The two living species are the common shortfin mako shark (I. oxyrinchus) and the rare longfin mako shark (I. paucus). They range in length from 2.5 to 4.5 m (8.2 to 14.8 ft), and have an approximate maximum weight of 680 kg (1,500 lb). They both have a distinctive blue-gray color scheme common among mackerel sharks.
Several extinct species are known from fossils found in sediments from Cretaceous to Quaternary (age range: 99.7 to 0.781 million years ago).[1]
The family Lamnidae also includes the great white shark and the porbeagle. Mako sharks are capable of swimming at speeds up to 32 km/hr (20 mph).[3] The great white shark is also closely related to an ancient mako shark, Isurus hastalis. However, fossil evidence suggests I. hastalis belonged to the genus Carcharodon.[4]
Species
The genus contains these species:[1]
- Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810) (shortfin mako)[5]
- Isurus paucus (Guitart-Manday, 1966) (longfin mako)[6]
- †Isurus desori (Agassiz, 1843)
- †Isurus escheri Agassiz 1843
- †Isurus flandricus (Leriche, 1910)
- †Isurus minutus (Agassiz, 1843)
- †Isurus nakaminatoensis (Saito, 1961)
- †Isurus planus (Agassiz, 1856)
- †Isurus praecursor (Leriche, 1905)
- †Isurus rameshi (Mehrotra, Mishra & Srivastava, 1973)
- †Isurus spallanzani Rafinesque 1810
See also
- List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish
- Shark meat
References
- Fossilworks
- Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Chondrichthyes entry)". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30.
- Peter Klimley, A.; Beavers, Sallie C.; Curtis, Tobey H.; Jorgensen, Salvador J. (2002). "Movements and Swimming Behavior of Three Species of Sharks in La Jolla Canyon, California". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 63 (2): 117–135. doi:10.1023/A:1014200301213.
- Ehret, Dana J.; MacFadden, Bruce J.; Jones, Douglas S.; Devries, Thomas J.; Foster, David A.; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo (2012). "Origin of the white shark Carcharodon (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) based on recalibration of the Upper Neogene Pisco Formation of Peru". Palaeontology. 55 (6): 1139–1153. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01201.x.
- Smith, J.L.B. Sharks of the Genus Isurus Rafinesque, 1810. Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 6. Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982 ISBN 0-00-216987-8