Is it a mako or a porbeagle??
Many times a porbeagle is mistaken for a mako. They
look a lot alike, and people don't know much about porbeagles. Most people
don't see a lot of either species. And you rarely ever see them together in the same
room, or on the same dock .
Below I will show you in detail, the differences. |
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Shortfin mako -notice the curved dagger like teeth in the front of
lower jaw. |
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Porbeagle- notice the white patch on back bottom of dorsal, and
the teeth are not as pronounced in the lower jaw as the mako's. Capt.
Frank Pitten photos |
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| A porbeagle dorsal has a rounded top to its dorsal with a white area on the back bottom of
the dorsal. Most times the
top and back edge of a porbeagles dorsal have a split ragged
edge, as in the picture.
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A mako has an erect dorsal with no white on the back bottom
trailing edge, and the dorsal
edges are usually intact, and not ragged like a porbeagles. |
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| The porbeagle has a ridge a few inches long on both sides of the
tail, at the top of the lower tail lobe just below where the flared out body section joins
the tail, In many cases the ridge is only a quarter of an inch
high. The porbeagle, Lamna nasus
and its West Coast and Alaskan relative the salmon shark,
Lamna ditropis, are unique since; they are
the only sharks in the world that have this ridge on the upper part of the lower tail
lobe.
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Porbeagle - notice white patch on back of dorsal |
Mako- Now you can see why the porbeagle gets mistaken for a
mako |
Let's try to identify a few sharks for practice.
Look the pictures over, and then read the text.
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What species of
shark is this??
Remember first look at the body section just before the tail.
Does it gradually taper in to the tail or does it flare out???
It flares out. A blue would not have a flared out body section going into the tail,
so
it's a white mako or porbeagle. ( also notice the tiny second dorsal
typical of
whites makos and porbeagles.)Look at the 1st dorsal.
Is
there a white patch or a sliver of white on the lower back edge ??
NO. That
eliminates the porbeagle. Now we are down to a white
or mako??
Look at the teeth in the lower front jaw. They are clustered and
dagger like.
(See teeth photo above for mako)
This shark is a shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus
A white would have triangular serrated teeth. |
Notice the back of the makos dorsal is not
split and ragged, as are many dorsals on the porbeagles, and whites. The
dorsal on a white would have its top point more to the tail and the back edge would
slightly curve in, and usually be ragged.
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What species is
this ?? A quick look at the body section going into the tail
shows it flares out. Mako? White? Porbeagle? Another look at the
back bottom edge of the dorsal and you can see a distinct white area. It's
a porbeagle, Lamna nasus ! If you went down and
looked this fish over carefully, you would find the teeth are v shaped, smooth edged with
projections at the base. Also you would find a ridge a few inches long on the upper
part of the lower tail lobe.
Only two sharks in the world have this ridge. The porbeagle, Lamna
nasus and the West coast salmon shark, Lamna ditropis
A white would have serrated triangular teeth. - A mako has dagger like teeth no
serrations. - A porbeagle has v shaped teeth with no serrations, and
with small protrusions at the base.
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The shark in the picture below was caught in the surf in
TEXAS.
We have this species here in New England so it is fair to ask you to identify
it.
What species is this ?
 This shark was caught from the surf in TEXAS,
on Feb 20, 1999. It is a very unusual catch since this species of shark is rarely
found in shallow water anywhere. Texans are used to catching bulls,
blacktips, and tigers from the beach, but not this
species. They brought the hook bait out 400 yds. on a jet ski. Three
hours later they made this once in a lifetime catch. Look it over. Ans. Below.
OK. Look at the body section going into the tail. It flattens
and flares out. Also notice the very small second dorsal,
the long gill slits, the solid black eye and the conical
shaped snout. These are characteristics of a Lamnidae Family
shark. (White- shortfin mako- longfin mako- porbeagle and salmon shark)
The water in the Gulf of Mexico is too warm for
the porbeagle and salmon shark. That leaves the white and the two
mako species. Both mako species and the white are in Texas waters. The cluster
of dagger like teeth in the lower jaw and the pointed snout indicates
it is a mako, and not a white. But which mako??
The longfin, Isurus paucus or the shortfin,
Isurus oxyrinchus.???? A shortfin will have white
under the lower jaw. A longfin will have a dark
area under the lower jaw, and will have a large eye and long
swept back pectoral fins. This shark has white
under the lower jaw. This shark is in fact a shortfin
mako, Isurus oxyrinchus. |
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How about this one? Mako or porbeagle?
Well we cant see the tail section to look for the flared out body section. But
look at the back bottom of the dorsal. See the white patch. Also look at the
teeth in the lower front jaw. They are not clustered and dagger like as they would
be in a mako. This is a porbeagle.
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Above, we determined the shark in the picture on the left is
a shortfin mako. What about the shark on the right?
Is it a mako?
Let's look it over, and apply the mako characteristics. Look at the picture on the left
and then the picture on the right as I apply the mako characteristics.
A mako will have a pointed snout. No, the shark on the right has a snout that
is more shovel like.
A mako will have a solid black eye? No, the
eye is not black on the shark on the right.
A mako will have a cluster of long dagger-like
teeth in the lower front jaw. No, the teeth of the shark on the right are even across the
front of the lower jaw.
A mako will have long gill slits? No, the gill slits are
short on the shark on the right.
A mako will have a very small second dorsal fin.
No, the second dorsal fin is reasonable in size and easily seen on the shark on the
right..
A mako's lower tail lobe is almost as long as the upper?
No, the shark on the right has the upper tail at least twice as long as the
lower. The shark on the right is definitely not a mako.
Although you may
not know what species of shark it is, you know it is definitely not a mako. And
that's a form of identification. Most fishermen though are reluctant to just say I don't
know what it is, and will guess.
We don't have these sharks in New England. It is a bronze whaler, Carcharhinus
brachyurus, caught off a beach in Namibia, Africa. Also known as the copper
shark, and the narrowtooth shark.
But at a quick glance you can see how easily mistakes can be made. When the
sharks are in the water it is more difficult to identify them since a
quick glance is often what you get. -Tom |
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| This shark ??????? was taken in
Northern Labrador (August 2004) It went through two salmon
nets before getting caught in the third. I thank Roy Flynn for the
info on this shark.
So what do you think it is? Mako ?
Porbeagle? White? Answer below the
picture. Don't peek. - tom |
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The white
on the back of the dorsal gives it away. The secondary keel on the tail is visible, and
only two shark species have that
characteristic, the porbeagle Lamna nasus, and the salmon shark Lamna ditropis. .
The shark above is a porbeagle, Lamna nasus.
A salmon shark below does not have white on the back of its dorsal and they are not in
the Atlantic ocean.
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The shark on the left is a salmon shark , Lamna
ditropis
They are not here in the New England area or the Atlantic Ocean
. They are on the west coast and up into Alaska and across the cold
water areas to Russia.
This gives you a good look at the spotted belly area and the secondary
keel on the tail.
The dorsal is under the rail, and if you could see it, there would
be no white on the back of the dorsal. |
You don't always get to see a shark intact.
How to tell a mako or porbeagle apart with their head and fins
missing.
Normally the second dorsal and anal fins are left on the carcass. Both
will have a flattened body section just before the tail.
From experience, if you look at the second dorsal and anal fin
relationships, and sizes, you can tell what it was. Both the second dorsal and anal
fins of the mako and porbeagle are very small by comparison to other
sharks. The mako’s small second dorsal
is slightly ahead of the anal fin. The porbeagle’s
small second dorsal is directly over the anal fin, or slightly
toward the tail. For the same size carcass, the porbeagle's 2nd dorsal fin,
although small by comparison to other sharks, is larger than the mako's. The second
dorsal fin on a mako is tiny.
(In fish houses makos are mixed in with swordfish; because makos
are caught in swordfish long lining operations.. A mako has a snow
white belly, and a similar body shaped swordfish has a smudgy
dirty looking belly area. When rubbed from tail to head a swordfish
won't be as abrasive as a mako.) |
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Updated March 20, 2008 -
Scituate, Massachusetts
