Shortfin mako
Isurus oxyrinchus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Shortfin mako
- Scientific
- Isurus oxyrinchus
- Dhivehi
- ވޮށިމަސް މިޔަރުVoshimas miyaru
- Group
- Sharks
- Maximum size
- Up to about 4.5 m (total length); commonly 2.7 m; max. published weight 505.8 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 2 m; max. 4 m
- Depth and habitat
- Open ocean, near the surface and in mid-water, recorded from 0 to 888 m (usually 100 to 150 m)
- IUCN status
- EN · EndangeredEndangered (EN), assessed 2018CITES Appendix II
Description
A sleek, spindle-shaped shark with a sharply pointed snout, large black eyes, slender hooked teeth that show even when the mouth is closed, and a crescent-shaped tail. It is dark metallic blue above and white below. One of the fastest sharks, it hunts tuna, swordfish and other sharks in the open ocean. It is listed as Endangered.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives voshimas miyaru. Sharks are fully protected in the Maldives (since 2010).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Isurus-oxyrinchus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ވޮށިމަސް_މިޔަރު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Isurus_oxyrinchus_by_mark_conlin2.JPG
Dhivehi name source: Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ވޮށިމަސް މިޔަރު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Voshimas miyaru' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.