Thresher Shark Facts | Thresher Shark Diet & Habitat

Come and learn with me some of the most essential thresher shark facts including thresher shark distribution, diet, reproduction, and species. Thresher shark is a large fish that belongs to the family of Alopiidae and is known to reside in all the tropical and temperate waters worldwide.

There are three species in this family within the genus Alopias. These shark species are best known for their long and whip-like tail that measures even more than its own body. Apart from tail, thresher sharks have unsurprisingly small mouth together with the large pectoral fins.

Thresher shark usually employ its tail to shock its prey. The color of the skin ranges from blue, brown and grey. These sharks can grow to a size of about 20 feet. They are seldom seen popping out of water. They have real economic value to many countries like northeastern Indian Ocean, North Atlantic, eastern and Central Pacific. The skin of thresher shark is employed for making leather and their liver offers rich vitamin oil.

Amazing Thresher Shark Facts

Thresher sharks are widely known for their elongated whip-like tail that is typically used to stun their prey.
These shark species are active predators.
They have small mouth and large eyes.
Common thresher is by far the largest thresher with a length of about 6.1 meters (20 feet).
The weight of these sharks is around 500 kg (1,100 lb).
The length of bigeye thresher measure around 4.9 meters (16 feet).
The pelagic thresher shark is the smallest with the length measuring at 3 meters (10 feet).
Thresher sharks have slim dorsal fins.
Thresher sharks are solitary hunters.
These fishes are highly migratory species.
They are also seen jumping out of water like dolphins and therefore, these sharks are also confused with the dolphins. This is called breaching.
Thresher sharks are managed in some areas for their value as both a recreational sport fish and commercial species.

Where Do Thresher Sharks Live

Thresher sharks are pelagic fish as they are often found in a depth of about 500 meters (1,600 feet); they seldom dive deep in the shallow waters. Common threshers are often found in continental shelves of Asia, North America, and North Pacific. Some of these species also inhabit across the western and Central Pacific. They are believed to be at a depth no more than 500 meters.

What Do Thresher Sharks Eat | Thresher Shark Facts

Thresher sharks primarily prey on cuttlefish, mackerel, little tuna, crabs, shrimps, cephalopods, squid, and bluefish. These sharks are adept to follow large schools of fish in deep waters. Sometimes odd seabird and crustaceans are also eaten.

Reproduction

Thresher sharks have no typical breeding season. They are ovoviviparous species.
The females give birth to 2 – 4 pups.
These pups are 150 cm in length.
The males reach the maturity age between 7 – 13 years.
The females become mature in between 8 – 13 years.
The average lifespan of thresher sharks is 20 years.
The gestation period lasts for about 9 months.
The young sharks are 3 – 5 feet long at birth.

Species

Pelagic thresher
Bigeye thresher
Common thresher

Thresher Shark Facts | Video

Shark

Fish