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Mar. Lite 2003- Vol. 13 (1-2): 53-59
On the Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias
(linnaeus, 1758),
preserved in the Museum of Zoology in lausanne
À propos du grand requin blanc, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 7758),
conservé au Musée zoologique de Lausanne
Alessandro De Maddalena*, Olivier Glaizot**, Guy Oliver***
* ltalian Great White Shark Data Bank (Banca Dati Italiana Squalo Bianco)- via L. Ariosto 4, 1-20145 Milano, ltaly.
a-demaddalena@tiscal i. it
**Musée ca ntonai de zoologie- case postale 448, CH-1 000 Lausanne 17, Switzerland.
***Université de Perpignan, Laboratoire de biologie physico-chimique- 52, avenue de Villeneuve,
F-66860 Perpignan cedex, France.
Key-words: Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, morphometry Mediterranean Sea, Lausanne Museum
of Zoology.
Mots clés :grand requin blanc, Carcharodon carcharias, morphométrie, mer Méditerranée, Musée de zoologie
de Lausanne
ABSTRACT
De Maddalena A., O. Glaizot, G. Oliver- On the Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), preserved in
the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne. Ma r. Life, 13 (7 -2) :53-59.
The cast of a 5.89 m female Great White Shark Carcharodon carcharias preserved in the Museum of Zoology in
Lausanne (Switzerland), is the largest world-wide that has been reconstructed directly from a whole specimen.
This specimen, captured off Sète, France (Mediterranea n Sea), on 7J'h October 7956, is one of the three largest
specimens ever measured accurately. Description and morphometrics of the shark cast are given.
RÉSUMÉ
De Maddalena A., O. Glaizot G. 0/iver - [À propos du grand requin blanc, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), conser-
vé au Musée zoologique de Lausanne]. Ma r. Life, 13 (7 -2) : 53-59.
Le moulage d'un spécimen femelle de 5.89 m d'un grand requin blanc (Carcharodon carcharias) est conservé au
Musée de zoologie de Lausanne (Suisse). C'est actuellement le plus grand spécimen de cette espèce directement
moulé à partir d'un individu entier. Ce dernier fut capturé le 73 octobre 7956 au large de Sète, en France (mer
Méditerranée); il est l'un des trois plus grands spécimens mesurés de manière précise. La description et la mor-
phométrie de ce requin sont données.
INTRODUCTION concluded that C. carcharias can reach at least 640-
660 cm in total length and very probably even more.
The maximum size of the Great White Shark,
Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), has long Unfortunately, specimens around six metres in
been debated and remains a subject of controversy. length have been measured accurately only very
lt is assumed that this species can reach at least six rarely. lrrefutable evidence of very large specimens,
metres in total length. Furthermore, many larger spe- represented by complete stuffed specimens or casts
cimens are mentioned in the literature, but almost prepared directly from fresh specimens, are very
always without verifiable evidence of their real size rare. The primarily cause of this paucity of data is the
(EIIis, McCosker, 1991 ). De Maddalena et al. (2001) logistical difficulties presented by the preparation
analysed photographic evidence of the largest white and preservation of large sharks. Methods of estima-
sharks caught in the Mediterranean Sea and they ting the length of sharks on the basis of skeletal parts
which have been preserved -in particular teeth, jaws
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