The salmon shark (Lamna ditropis) is a species of mackerel shark found in the northern Pacific ocean. Another well-developedsense is their ability to detect weak electromagneticfields that are emitted by the muscles of swimmingfish and other prey. Salmon sharks, Lamna ditropis (Hubbs and Follett, 1947), are closely related to porbeagle sharks, Lamna nasus. Commercial fishing of the salmon shark in Alaska has been banned, and recreational fishing of this species has been heavily regulated since 1997. And like the great white and mako shark, they have a heavy body with a short snout and large gills. They have heavy spindle-shaped bodies with short, blunt, conical snouts and large gill slits relative to their body size. Small pores on the snouts help gather electromagnetic signals emitted from the movement of swimming fish. Bycatch in the Eastern and Western Central Pacific has been significantly reduced since the elimination of the drift gillnet fishery and the population appears to have rebounded to its former levels. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Sharp teeth help the shark kill and tear their food into bite-sized pieces. Sharks have a number of largepores, or channels, in their snouts that are used todetect these weak electrical fields. They have a grey-black skin coloring with dark blotches and a white underside. Salmon sharks were once thought to be a local coastal species, but Bruce Wright hypothesized they were highly migratory based on observations of young salmon sharks becoming stranded on California beaches. http://environmentalaska.us/salmon-sharks.html, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lamna_ditropis/, http://www.arkive.org/salmon-shark/lamna-ditropis/, http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=salmonshark.main, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/39342/0. They have counter shading camouflage with dark gray above and stark white bellies. Goldman, R.N. Have you ever wondered how dolphins evolved to conquer the worlds oceans and rivers? Salmon sharks stay in groups based on gender and size. The largest confirmed length of a salmon shark is 10 ft (3 m). These sharks inhabit both oceanic and coastal waters, usually with temperatures of 36.5-75.2F (2.5-24C) at depths of up to 500 ft (152.4 m). Casper, and C.R. Their preferred temperature range is 2.5 to 24 degrees Celsius. Compagno, L.J.V. Like other sharks in Lamnidae family, salmon sharks are endothermic, meaning they are able to thermoregulate, or maintain a body temperature above the temperature of the surrounding water. All rights reserved. Also known as aplacental viviparous. Required fields are marked *. Goldman, K.J., and J.A. Marine Ecology Progress Series 525: 217-228. Lamna ditropis. Range and Habitat. Sharks are one of the oldest species on earth having outlived the dinosaurs with fossil records dating them back 400 million years. Salmon sharks stay in groups based on gender and size. Salmon sharks stay in groups based on gender and size. In attacking salmon, these sharks are extremely persistent and acrobatic, often leaping repeatedly out of the water in hot pursuit. They also regulate their temperature with vascular shunts that enable them to alter the route of blood flow. Similar to other pelagic elasmobranch species, the migratory range of salmon sharks is wide, and are likely associated with the migratory patterns of their prey fishes. Sharks sixthsense is so acute as to allow them to track their preyby following the wake the prey leaves in the water. GBIF network ~ OBIS distribution map ~ AquaMaps. There are over 400 species of sharks. As an apex predator, the salmon shark feeds on salmon, squid, sablefish, and herring. 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