Click to see other shark photos Photo Gallery by Javier Grinfeld at pbase.com

Click to see other shark photos

The Misterious Shark. It surprised us. As soon as we saw him I knew that it is going to be tough to photograph him. He was well beyond strobe distance and with a 50 ASA film and lighting conditions, there were not many chances to get proper exposures. I didn't know how long it will stay with us neither, so I just started shooting with several exposures. All came completely underexposed. I could hardly scan these slides into the images displayed here, in very low contrast and colors. But perhaps they have enough information to identify the shark. This shark became of immediate interest as we started to debate on what species it is. After consulting several shark experts from all over the world it seems that it is a Great White shark! In this case it is the first Great White ever observed in Eilat (the northernmost point in the Red Sea). It appears to be a young one, 3-3.5 meters length. Feel free to leave your comments if you can contribute to the exact identification of this shark...

The first Great White ever observed in Eilat, Red Sea	Shark2	shark1	Shark3
Shark images	The first Great White ever observed in Eilat, Red Sea

comment

Guest		18-May-2002 11:22
Hello, i don't think it is neither a great white nor a shortfin mako. But in deed, it seems to be a longfin mako (Isurus paucus). Regards

Javier Grinfeld		22-Apr-2002 08:49
Here are some comments we received about the shark: #1. By process of elimination, we´re leaning towards identifying that shark as a white. As you said, it just seems too bulky to be one of the makos. Since neither Lamna species has ever been reported in the Red Sea, and Carcharodon has, that´s what we´re left with for options. We´re having a few other folks look at it too, so I´ll let you know if we come up with something else Cheers Andrew and Dr. Bruce, #2. Got it directly from Alessandro De Madalena, Italian shark expert: Dear Javier, I can repeat what I already said to Naftali Blau. My opinion is that it's a young white shark. The shape of the head in dorsal view is exactly that of a white shark. Considering it to be a white shark, I estimate it's length about 2 m. It's very diffcult that this specimen was in the range of 3 m, since at this size the body shape is already more similar to that od the adult specimens. See also the photo of a 1.9 m white shark on the folowing Henry Mollet's web page: Surely this specimen is not a shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus. Too heavy and stout. The body shape is too different from that of Isurus oxyrinchus. The head is too wide. The body shape and the caudal fin shape are very similar to that of the porbeagle, Lamna nasus. But shape and length of pectoral fin is different from that of the porbeagle. Moreover you can't see the white patch at the dorsal fin free rear tip (this character is ever well observable in the porbeagle). Again, usually porbegles have larger first dorsal fin. However we can note a not usual detail, since the white coloration of the pectoral fin free rear tip here is extended forming a thin white posterior margin. Note that this character is not usually observed in C. carcharias, I. oxyrinchus and L. nasus. But individual differences are ever possible. It's a pity that you had not occasion to take better photo, since I saw on your web site that you are an excellent underwater photographer. However the pictures that you take are yet enough interesting. I think you has been very lucky. Don't lose the occasion to write a short report on this encounter on a scientific journal. And when published, please, don't forget to send me a copy of it. Alessandro -- Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena Curator of the Italian Great White Shark Data Bank Member of the Mediterranean Shark Research Group via L. Ariosto 4, I-20145 Milano, Italy Ph.39/02/48021454 E-mail: ademaddalena@tiscalinet.it Web page (in italian): http://www.geocities.com/demaddalena_a/autore.html Home page SQUALI (in italian): http://www.geocities.com/demaddalena_a/index.html Small english site: http://members.it.tripod.de/orcinus/index.html #3. The shark appears to have a definite keel. See the curved white blur along the tail stock behind the second dorsal extending back to the tail? This makes it either a Mackerel shark, or a basker. Of these possibilities only White Sharks and Shortfin Makos are present in the Red Sea area (Compagno FAO species catalog). If you draw a line down through the body of the shark, starting at the leading edge of the first dorsal fin, you intersect with the pectoral fin about 2/3s of the way back. Look at Rick´s diagnostic illustrations of the Shortfin Mako http://www.reefquest.com/lamnoid_profiles/i_oxyrinchus.htm and the White http://www.reefquest.com/white_shark/overview.htm. You can see that the Mako´s dorsal originates behind the trailing edge of the pectoral, while that of a White originate well over the pect. I think your friend was sharing his bit of ocean with a White Shark! Congratulate him on being calm enough to take photos near one of the ocean´s biggest predators

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