10 Most Badass Sharks In the World

I stated in the 10 Most Badass Fish post that I excluded sharks because I didn't want them to make up half the list. It's only natural then that I should write a list dedicated to the most amazing (modern... I'm looking at you Megalodon fans) sharks on earth. There are so many other bad ass sharks that I wish made this list, as always it's always hard to narrow it down to just ten.

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10. Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)

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The shortfin mako makes the list by virtue of being the fastest shark on earth, clocking in at 72 kilometers (45 miles) an hour. It is also one of only four known functionally warm-blooded sharks, this allows it to much much more active than it's cold-blooded cousins (almost all other sharks). This active life style suits it well, as the mako sharks main prey items are other fast moving creatures such as mackerel, tuna, swordfish, squid, other sharks, and even small dolphins.

The mako shark's teeth are slender and pointed with no serrations. They are designed for grabbing and keeping a hold of prey rather than slicing large chunks of flesh off the prey item. This is important, as mentioned earlier mako's prey on fast moving animals, so it's necessary that they not allow their prey to escape their jaws or else the prey item will dart away, leaving the mako hungry.

The shark can grow up to 4.45 m (14'7" feet), but are more commonly around 2m (6'7") in length.

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9. Cookie Cutter Shark (Isistius brasiliensis)

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Look at those teeth! Even though it only reaches 56cm (17-22 inches) in length, the cookie cutter shark is a nasty little fellow who is completely indiscriminate in prey items. The shark preys on everything from tuna to blue whales, and many of the other sharks on this list! The cookie cutter shark bites a perfectly circular wound about 5cm (2 inches) in diameter and 7cm (2.8 inches) deep from the chosen victim. This may or may not kill the sharks prey, depending on how big the prey is, and were the wound is.

Ouch! Pictured above is a fresh cookie cutter shark bite on a dolphin. in areas with a high population of cookie cutter sharks, larger whales can often have hundreds of scars from cookie cutter shark bites over the years.

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8. Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus)

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The Greenland  shark is a shark of extremes Reaching lengths of up to 6.4m (21 ft) and weighing up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), it's one of the larger predatory sharks on earth. Greenland Sharks have been found with fresh polar bear remains in it's stomach, Suggesting that it did indeed kill the bear and didn't just scavenge a carcass that sank to the ocean floor. Any creature that can kill the biggest bear on earth is bad ass in my books. They can be found at a depth of 2,200m (7,200 ft) up to 180m (600 ft) with them venturing into shallow from time to time to grab a caribou or two. The shark literally eats everything, from fish, to squid, to porpoises.

Teeth of Greenland Shark

Even the flesh of the Greenland shark is poisonous to warm-blooded creatures (such as humans). This is because there is a enzyme that acts as an anti-freeze in the sharks blood to protect it from the extreme arctic waters that it lives in. Despite this, there are two warm-blooded predators that feed on Greenland sharks, Sperm Whales and Orca's (don't ask me how they handle the poisonous blood). Unless you count other Greenland sharks, then they only have these three predators.

The greenland shark is also the oldest living vertabrate in the world, with an estimated average lifespan of 200 years.They are also frequently found with a parasitic copepod attached to their eyes, making them effectively blind. It's thought that the copepod acts as a lure, tricking fish into coming close to the sharks head and within striking range of it's jaws.

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7. Goblin Shark (Mitsukurina owstoni)

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Sweet Jesus! What is that thing! I hear you scream. It's a goblin shark of course, which get's it's name from the nose-like protrusion and odd mouth giving it a goblin like appearance. The goblin shark is perhaps(no, is) the oddest looking shark alive today, continuing with it's ancestors legacy of being evolution's sandbox.

If hell exists, I guarantee it's populated entirely by Goblin sharks. Seriously though, i think they're awesome creatures!

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6. Thresher Shark (Alopias vulpinus)

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There are three different types of Thresher sharks in the world, and the biggest is the common thresher, measuring about 6 m (20 ft) long. The really cool thing about these sharks is their tail, which they use as a whip to stun prey. They most commonly eat schooling fish such as mackerel and bluefish.

Common Thresher Shark's Teeth

The thresher shark is the jumping champion of the shark world, being able to launch themselves up to 6 m (20 ft) straight into the air!

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5. Oceanic Whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus)

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The oceanic whitetip is the stereotypical "feeding frenzy" shark. Growing up to 4 m (13 ft) in length. The relatively large size and aggressive nature of the shark means that it dominates feeding frenzies when multiple species are taking part. Back in the days of pirates and privateers, these were the sharks that would feast on the men stranded in the ocean after having their ship destroyed. Jacques Cousteau regarded them as the most dangerous shark in the world.

Oceanic Whitetip Tooth

 The shark's are opportunistic hunters, eating a large variety of food such as fish, birds, sea turtles, and mammals. Since they are open ocean sharks, they may go a while between meals. This means that when they do find something to eat, they tear into it with great enthusiasm, often going into feeding frenzy.

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4. Great Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna mokarran)

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The great hammerhead is the largest species of hammerhead sharks, growing up to 6.1m (20 ft) in length. Like most sharks, they eat most everything that crosses their path including porcupine fish, grey reef sharks (which are a 1.9 m (6.2 ft) shark), and their favorite prey being stingrays. Apparently the stingrays spines have no effect on the shark, and are frequently found lodged in an around the hammerhead's mouth.

Small, sharp and pointed back for slicing flesh
off their prey quickly,.

Just what is the head shaped like that for? Well it's essentially used as a minesweeper... for stingrays! Sweeping it's head to side to side over the sand bed, the hammerhead can detect the stingrays electrical signal (present in all living things). Once the hammerhead finds its prey, it pins it to the sand bed using it's hammer, and pivots to take a bit out of the wing of the ray. Once the ray is incapacitated, the shark tears into its well deserved meal.

If you pause the video at 0:26 you can see that the hammerhead is chasing a lemon shark.

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3. Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

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Bull shark's are amazing for their ability to live in both salt and fresh water. They are fairly big shark that is very heavy set and bulky reaching 3.5 m (11 ft) long. They are extremely aggressive sharks, and their ability to live in fresh water means they are often in close proximity to humans, resulting in it being one of the four species of sharks responsible for the majority of attacks on humans.

Bull Shark teeth. like most sharks, the top and bottom row are different.

They have been found to swim up the amazon river as far as 4,000 km (2,500 mi) up the amazon river, and has occasionally been seen as far up the Mississippi river as Alton. After the flooding in Queensland Australia of 2011, they could be seen swimming the streets of Goodna for several days.

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2. Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)

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Tiger sharks eat everything, and I mean everything! They are the apex predator in their habitat, feeding on everything including fish, crustaceans, mollusks, dugongs, seabirds, sea snakes,marine mammals, and sea turtles and the largest individuals can grow to a whopping 7.5m (25 ft) in length, rivaling great whites in size. That being said, a length of 5 m (16 ft) is more common.

They're teeth are designed to slice through tough substances, and easily slices through flesh, bone, and even turtle shells. The teeth are shapes to act like a saw, with the shark shaking it's head back and forth to saw through the toughest materials. Like all sharks, these teeth are continually replaced. This ensures that the tiger sharks teeth never get to dull.

Here's a video of a tiger shark eating a turtle, with some information about their teeth.

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1. Great White (Carcharodon carcharias)

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There's a good reason why the Great White is the stereotypical bad ass of the shark world. They are the biggest and strongest of all the sharks alive today. While they are apex predators, they are not monsters as portrayed in JAWS. The sharks can and do eat a wide variety of sea creatures, but they never intentionally seek out people to attack.

These impressive animals can grow to be 6.1 meters (20 feet) in length, although there are reports of larger sharks.

Great white shark teeth are shapes like serrated daggers. The bottom and top teeth interlock, effectively making the shark's mouth one giant pair of scissors! Rather than saw through their prey as the tiger sharks do, great whites tear away massive chunks of flesh and bone with each bite.

Other Huge, (but not exactly badass) sharks that deserve mentioning are the Whale Shark, Basking Shark, and Megamouth Shark, which are all peace loving filter feeders.

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