Species profile

Name: the blue shark (Prionace glauca) is a species of shark that inhabits deep waters in the world’s temperate and tropical oceans.

Appearance: blue sharks have slender, beautiful bodies with long fins. Their backs are a brilliant metallic blue, while their undersides are white allowing them to camouflage in the open ocean.

Size: they usually reach around 2.5 metres in length although some can grow up to 3.5 metres or more.

Diet: blue sharks mainly feed on small fish and squid, as well as octopus, lobster, and crab.

Did you know: these amazing creatures give birth to live young, with their offspring growing inside them for around 9 months before they give birth. Amazingly, they can have up to 135 babies at a time! Mating can be quite a rough experience, with males biting into the females to hold on. To adapt to this process, female blue sharks have skin that is three times as thick as the males.

Location: they are found in deep waters off the coasts of every continent except Antarctica. In  temperate seas they come closer to the shore and can be spotted by divers, while in tropical seas they live at greater depths.

Where to see blue sharks

According to reports submitted to WildSide, you can see blue sharks in the following places:

Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries West Coast under a Creative Commons licence from Flickr