Date:Mon 11/27/2023 8:00 AM
Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a great break, today's fish of the day is the salmon shark!
The salmon shark, known by scientific name Lamnidae ditropis, is known to most of us due to their habitat along the Pacific coast. As a member of the Lamnidae family, they are a mackerel shark, related to great whites and mako sharks. The range extends from South Japan to as far North as Alaska, and they live in both coastal waters, and open ocean. They occur singly or in feeding groups or schools, and individuals have been seen getting as deep as 2,000 feet underwater. Well many animals with large ranges have visual differences, the salmon shark is known for their Eastern populations having majority females, and the Western population being majority male due to unknown reasons.
The salmon shark is known for their unusual ability to maintain the temperature of their stomach, a common feature of warm blooded animals. Females can have anywhere in between 2-6 pups at a time, and reach sexual maturity by their 8th year, while males reach sexual maturity by their 5th year. Salmon sharks are apex predators feeding on herring, cephalopods, and salmon. They reach the regular size of 6 to 9 feet, and although there are rumors of salmon sharks reaching as large as 14 feet, the largest recorded are 10 feet.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!