PORBEAGLE
Lamna nasus
SIZE
To about 12 ft (3.7 m).
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- First dorsal fin with white patch at trailing edge
- Caudal fin lunate; two keels - one prominent, one secondary
- Snout conical
- Teeth smooth, bladelike with lateral cusplets
- Color dark bluish-gray to brown above, white below
DISTRIBUTION
Newfoundland, Canada, to MA, seasonally to NJ. Common in U.S. Northeast.
HABITAT
Continental shelf waters from surface to bottom to 1,200 ft (366 m) and
<66°F (19°C); juveniles farther inshore.
SIMILAR SPECIES
White
shark, shortfin
mako and longfin
mako lack any secondary keels on caudal fins, lateral cusplets
on teeth. White
shark has triangular teeth with serrated edges, blunter snout.
MORE INFORMATION
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Text descriptions taken from Guide to Sharks, Tunas, & Billfishes of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
|
Porbeagle length-weight
relationship
Shortfin mako and porbeagle comparison
Tags by month
Photo 1
Photo 2
Capt. Tom's Guide to New England Sharks
Canadian Shark Research Laboratory
Henry Mollet's Elasmobranch Research
This page was last updated: November 9, 2006
