---
title: "Great White Shark"
description: "Carcharodon carcharias — Fish. The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or great white, is a large shark."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/great-white-shark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Great White Shark

> Carcharodon carcharias — Fish. The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or great white, is a large shark.

- Scientific name: *Carcharodon carcharias*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 1549
- Wikidata: [Q129026](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q129026)
- iNaturalist taxon: [50873](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50873)

## Names

- en: Great White Shark
- de: Weißer Hai
- es: Tiburón blanco
- fr: Grand requin blanc
- nl: Witte haai
- pt: Tubarão-branco
- pl: Żarłacz biały

## Countries with the most observations

US (456), NZ (222), ZA (188), AU (140), MX (78), CA (26), GR (11)

## Summary

The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or great white, is a large shark. It is closely related to the mako sharks, the porbeagle, and the salmon shark. It is a robustly built species with a grayish upperside and a white underside. The white shark is one of the largest living shark and fish species, though it is still smaller than the whale shark and basking shark. It has about 300 triangular, serrated teeth that are continuously replaced. Its massive, fatty liver can reach over a quarter of its body weight, providing buoyancy and storing energy. The species is…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_shark

## Photo

![Great White Shark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/great-white-shark/medium.jpg)

Photo: Ben Holt · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/326607684

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/great-white-shark?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).