The first detailed study of the diets of great white sharks on the east coast of Australia reveals that this predator spends more time feeding near the seafloor than expected.
He study found that, according to the abundance of each food, The sharks' diet was based mainly on:
- Pelagic fish or fish swimming in the ocean, such as Australian salmon: 32.2%
- Bottom-dwelling fish such as stargazers, flounder, or flathead: 17.4%
- Reef fish, such as eastern clotheslines: 5.0%
- Batoid fish, such as rays: 14.9%
Exploring stomachs
As explained by the main author Richard Grainger, a doctorate. candidate at the Charles Perkins Center and the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney:
Inside the stomachs of sharks we find remains of a variety of fish species that generally live on the seabed or are buried in the sand. This indicates that sharks must spend a good portion of their time feeding just above the seafloor.
The study examined the stomach contents of 40 juvenile white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) caught in the NSW Shark Meshing Program. The scientists compared this with data published in other parts of the world, mainly South Africa, to establish a nutritional framework for the species.
So the stereotype of a shark's dorsal fin hovering above the surface while hunting is probably not a very accurate image.
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The news
Great white shark's diet discovered to be stranger than previously thought
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.