Great White Shark

The great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, also known as great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. The great white shark is very well known for its size, with the largest individuals known to have approached or exceeded 6 metres (20 ft) in length and 2,240 kilograms (4,938 lb) in weight. It reaches maturity at around 15 years of age and can have a life span of over 30 years. The great white shark is arguably the world's largest known extant macropredatory fish and is one of the primary predators of marine mammals. It is also known to prey upon a variety of other marine animals including fish, pinnipeds, and seabirds. It is the only surviving species of its genus, Carcharodon.
The best selling novel Jaws and the subsequent film by Steven Spielberg depicted the great white shark as a "ferocious man eater". In reality, humans are not the preferred prey item of great white shark.
The IUCN treats the great white shark as vulnerable, while it is included in Appendix II of CITES.