Habitat & Geography! Text Box: The Carcharodon carcharias species is geographically spread throughout temperate, coastal waters worldwide. Great Whites like to navigate the tropical waters because it is warm, but they are also known to make appearances to colder water towards the north. It has been noted that Great Whites have been seen off the shores of Alaska and Canada. As you can see in the graphic above, Great Whites love to inhabit coastlines everywhere from North and South America, to eastern Europe, to areas north and south of Africa, to eastern Asia, and finally to Australia’s southern coastline, along with New Zealand. They don't inhabit areas directly along the equator because they live best in waters that are free from extremes; either hot or cold (Martins, 2008).

Geographical Distribution of Carcharodon carcharias Around the World

= Carcharodon carcharias

Populated Areas

Photo by Linda Reese
Text Box: The habitat of the Great White Shark is mainly the euphotic or upper, sunlit zone of the ocean. Within this zone, the Great White mostly lives in neritic waters, or waters near the shoreline. Both of these suspected habitats of the Great White can range from the ocean surf-line, to well out at sea, and from the surface of the water, all the way to depths of 775 feet. You will find the Great White either at the surface of the water, or down near the bottom, but spends the least amount of time at mid-water depths. The Great White is known to roam around archipelagos, or clusters of small islands, because they are usually inhabited with their prey which include sea lions, seal, and walruses. Other areas that the Great White will roam is in offshore reefs, banks, and rocky headlands where water is deep, but still close to shore. The Great White fits into this niche as a predator, and most prey items will immediately scatter when this creature lurks into their territory (Martins, 2008).

Photo by Linda Reese
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