Dorsal surfaces are a deep purplish indigo in color, silvery on sides fading to snow white below. The longfin has a shaded coloration around the mouth and underside of the snout, unlike the shortfin that is snow white around the mouth and under-snout. Only the blue shark can rival the makos for beautiful color. Author Ernest Hemingway also was impressed by the mako shark and depicted it as the marlin marauding heavy in his classic novel the Old Man and the Sea. Author Richard Ellis also wrote an excellent short story about a deep sea contest between a mako and a broadbill swordfish in his popular work the Book of Sharks.
Development is oviparous.
Developing young are intra-uteral cannibals that consume lesser developed siblings. Maximum length over 12 feet long and max weight over 1500 lbs. Very little is known about the reproduction of the shortfin mako because females abort embryos during capture. Litters of over 8 - 10 pups are uncommon.