They are variable in colour but usually greyish brown above, white below, with a dark blotch at the pectoral fin base. Teeth are large, triangular and serrated. Average size is 2-4m, reaching perhaps 8m.

World wide in tropical to cool temperate waters (most commonly in the latter) They are coastal as well as oceanic and can enter shallow bays and harbours. Not abundant in NZ.

Eats mainly marine mammals. Young White sharks eat mainly fish.

Almost nothing is known about mating behaviour in great whites. However we know that up to 10 or 14 young born at 120-150 cm.Great white sharks also reach sexual maturity at around 15 years of age. Maximum life span was originally believed to be more than 30 years, but in a study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the true lifespan of the great white shark was revealed to be up to 70 years or more with examinations of growth ring count in vertebrae including ages of 73 years old in the oldest male and 40 years old in the oldest female in the study, making the species far more vulnerable to pressures such as overfishing and environmental change. Responsible for some attacks on humans, usually as a case of mistaken identity. The white pointer shark is a fully protected species. No person may take or possess any white pointer. Great white sharks are ovoviviparous, which means eggs develop and hatch in the uterus and continue to develop until birth. The great white has an 11-month gestation period. The shark pup's powerful jaws begin to develop in the first month. The unborn sharks participate in oophagy, in which they feed on ova produced by the mother. Delivery is in spring and summer.

NZ Marine Fishes: Paul
"Natural History of the White Shark". PRBO Conservation Science. 2 May 2010.