Atlantic mako shark

About this species

The shortfin mako shark, also known as the shortfin mako, blue pointer, or bonito shark, is a species of large mackerel shark. It is commonly referred to as the mako shark, as is the longfin mako shark. The fastest known shark species, able to reach speeds of 74 km/h (46 mph) in bursts, the shortfin mako can attain sizes of more than 4 m (13 ft) in length and weigh over 570 kg (1,260 lb). The species is classified as Endangered by the IUCN.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Shortfin mako shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 540 records
February: 1,566 records
March: 968 records
April: 564 records
May: 270 records
June: 158 records
July: 164 records
August: 132 records
September: 77 records
October: 119 records
November: 107 records
December: 151 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–1,830 m · Deepest record: 5,250 m

0–10 m: 13 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 4 records
50–60 m: 5 records
60–70 m: 4 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 65 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–29 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 0 records
10–12 °C: 4 records
12–14 °C: 3 records
14–16 °C: 22 records
16–18 °C: 287 records
18–20 °C: 48 records
20–22 °C: 17 records
22–24 °C: 6 records
24–26 °C: 16 records
26–28 °C: 87 records
28–30 °C: 29 records

Photos

(c) biodiversitygr, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by biodiversitygr · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Fábio Olmos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Michel Frisch, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Vsevolod Rudyi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) biodiversitygr, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Elias Freyhof, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Atlantic mako shark, Blue pointer, Blue porpoise shark, Blue shark, Bonito shark, Mackerel porbeagle, Atlantic mako, blue pointer, blue porpoise shark, blue shark, bonito shark, mackerel porbeagle, mackerel shark, mako, Mako, mako shark, Mediterranean mackerel shark, Pacific bonito shark, Pacific mako shark, porpoise shark, sharp nosed, sharp-nosed mackerel shark, Sharp-nosed mackerel shark, Sharp-nose mackerel shark, sharpnose mako, shortfin mako, Shortfin mako, short finned mako shark, snapper shark

Names in 5 more languages

German: Blauhai, Kurzflossen-Mako, Mako, Makohai, Makrelenhai
Spanish: alecrín, Atunero, Cane de mare, dentudo, Diamante, Dientuso, dientuso azul, ludia marraco, Maco, mako, marrajo, Marrajo, marrajo dientuso, Marrajo dientuso, marraquet, sobratg, tiburón, Tiburón azujelo, Tiburón bonito, Tiburón carito, Tinto
French: Lamie, Mako, mako à nageoires courtes, Marache, requin-taupe bleu, Requin taupe bleu, Requin-taupe bleu, taupe bleu, Taupe bleu, taupe bleue, Taupe bleue, Taupe bleu, Requin taupe bleu, Requin mako
Japanese: aozame, Aozame, awozame, morozame, アオザメ
Simplified Chinese: 尖吻鯖鯊, 灰鯖鮫, 煙仔沙, 煙仔鯊, 馬加, 馬加鯊

Other scientific names: Carcharias tigris, Isuropsis dekayi, Isuropsis glaucus, Isuropsis mako, Isurus africanus, Isurus bideni, Isurus cepedii, Isurus glaucus, Isurus guentheri, Isurus mako, Isurus oxyrhinchus, Isurus oxyrhincus, Isurus oxyrhynchus, Isurus spallanzani, Isurus tigris, Lamna glauca, Lamna guentheri, Lamna huidobrii, Lamna latro, Lamna oxyrhina, Oxyrhina glauca, Oxyrhina gomphodon, Squalus cepedii

Similar species

Longfin mako
Isurus paucus
Anchovy-eater
Carcharodon carcharias
(common) Atlantic mackerel shark
Lamna nasus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
6,451 open-data records from 1810 to 2024.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.