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Enchanted Learning All About Sharks!

Geologic Time Chart

ALL ABOUT SHARKS!

PORBEAGLE SHARK Lamna nasus

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The porbeagle (Lamna nasus) is a common, fast-swimming, potentially dangerous shark. They are dark gray on top and white underneath; there is also a small patch of white on the rear edge of the dorsal fin. Porbeagles have a torpedo-shaped body and two keels on the tail, making it an efficient swimmer.

Porbeagles are functionally warm-blooded; they retain the heat generated by their muscles and recycle it to heat their body, keeping their body temperature up to 20°F (11°C) warmer than the cold waters they live in.

SIZE
This mackerel shark can grow to be up to 12 feet (3.7 m), weighing about 350-550 pounds (160-250 kg).

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION
Porbeagles live in cold waters down to about 1,200 feet (370 m). These common sharks live in the North and South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans.

TEETH AND DIET
The porbeagle feed on fish (mostly mackerel, squid, cod, hake, flounder and other bottom-dwelling fish) with its long, sharp teeth.

PORBEAGLE SHARK ATTACKS
The porbeagle is a potentially dangerous shark.

SPEED AND SWIMMING
The porbeagle is a very fast, powerful swimmer. Porbeagles have a torpedo-shaped body and two keels on the tail, making it an efficient swimmer. Porbeagles must swim continuously to get oxygen.

REPRODUCTION
Porbeagles are viviparous (they give birth to live young). Embryos are cannibalistic in the womb; only 2-4 pups survive pregnancy.

PORBEAGLE SHARK CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom Animalia (animals) Phylum Chordata SubPhylum Vertebrata (vertebrates) Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Subclass Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) Order Lamniformes Family Lamnidae Genus Lamna Species nasus

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