Mako sharks are some of the most elusive sharks in the world. Because mako sharks prefer the open ocean to the shallower areas near the shoreline, less is known about them than about other species.
However, thanks to tireless research, more has been learned about both the longfin and shortfin mako sharks in recent years.
The Pacific Ocean, one of the regions where mako sharks live, is among the least-explored areas of all the oceans. As a result, the creatures that lurk in the deep waters off the continental shelf remain a mystery. But in 2019, one of those creatures, a black mako shark, made its presence known. When scientists were presented with a video of the shark, they wondered just what a black mako shark was. That question is still being asked today as the Discovery Channel unveiled a new show, “Black Mako of the Abyss,” as part of the network’s Shark Week programming, proving there is much more to be learned both about the depth of the ocean and the animals that live there.
What Is a Black Mako Shark?
Black mako sharks have a darker coloring than longfin or shortfin makos, as seen here, which tend to have gray or dark blue coloration.
©wildestanimal/Shutterstock.com
A black mako shark is a variant of the mako shark. These sharks are a dark black color, rather than the gray or dark blue color that other mako sharks have. First discovered in 2019, the sharks have similar features to both the longfin and shortfin makos, yet look different from both species, making it unclear how they should be classified.
The black mako shark’s body is “sleek” with a “long, pointed snout” and longer pectoral fins, according to LiveScience. This does contrast with the shortfin mako sharks, which tend to have shorter pectoral fins. However, given that not all black mako sharks have long pectoral fins like the longfin mako, distinguishing the black mako from other mako sharks can be difficult.
Learning more about the black mako shark is difficult because they do not live in the shallower ocean waters that shortfin mako sharks inhabit. Instead, the black mako sharks tend to live in deeper regions of the ocean off the continental shelf. This is likely why the black mako shark was not seen until just a few years ago.
Where Mako Sharks Are Located
Mako sharks prefer open-ocean, deep-water environments in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico.
©Xavier ELIAS Photography/Shutterstock.com
Mako sharks in general tend to live in the open waters of the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. The regions where they are most often found are where there are warmer currents. This is because the food supply that the mako sharks target, mackerel, swordfish, tuna, small porpoises, and the like, favors the warmer parts of the ocean versus the colder. Mako sharks are most often seen near Cape Cod, the Gulf of Mexico, and Southern California. Depending on whether it is a shortfin or longfin mako, the depths at which the sharks are found are between 50 and 600 feet below the surface.
Despite the shortfin mako inhabiting waters that are close to the shoreline, there are very few attacks on people by shortfin or mako sharks that have been recorded. When the attacks occurred, they were in open-water environments where sharks live. Even then, between 1980 and 2024, that figure is less than 10 attacks. Mako shark sightings are not uncommon off the coast of Southern California. However, the fact that the black mako shark made multiple appearances is unusual.
What Makes the Shark So Strange
Similar to the longfin mako sharks, such as this one, the black mako sharks also prefer some of the deeper regions of the ocean off the coast of Southern California.
©Joe Fish Flynn/Shutterstock.com
The fact that mako sharks are found off the coast of Southern California in itself is not strange. What is odd about the situation is that a species never seen before 2019 has now established itself in the deep waters off the coast. This has led to questions about why the shark is here now. The black mako has characteristics of both the longfin and shortfin mako sharks. However, it is believed that they are a deepwater shark, as some, like the longfin mako sharks, have long pectoral fins and dark coloring that may help them blend into the dark water hundreds of feet below the surface.
With climate change causing ocean temperatures to warm, one theory suggests that black mako sharks appeared off the coast of California because they are following their prey to warmer waters. However, even if this is the case, scientists do not know where the black mako shark resided before it was spotted off the California coastline. Additionally, scientists have yet to be able to determine how to classify the black mako shark. Consequently, there are still far more questions than answers regarding the elusive mako shark.
Hybrid or Longfin Shark?
Scientists are still uncertain whether the black mako shark is its own species or a hybrid of the longfin and shortfin mako sharks, as seen here, due to unsuccessful attempts to recover tissue samples.
©Xavier ELIAS Photography/Shutterstock.com
Just what species of shark the black mako is is still unknown to scientists. Consequently, it is unclear if the black mako is a longfin mako shark or a hybrid between the longfin and shortfin mako sharks. Scientists have been unable to determine the black mako’s species, despite significant efforts. They have dumped “hundreds of gallons of chum” from a helicopter and even used a great white shark decoy to lure the black mako out from its deep-water home. Black makos have appeared where the chum has been dropped. However, because they move with such speed, no samples of the sharks have been taken.
Based on observation alone, it is not possible to determine the species of the black mako shark. By dropping bait that caused the shark to breach, according to LiveScience, the black mako that came to get the bait did indeed jump out of the water. However, getting the sharks to breach did not yield the results scientists had hoped for. This is because some of the sharks had shorter fins, while one had a fin that was substantially longer than that of a shortfin shark. No conclusions could be drawn.
Since the black mako was discovered in 2019, scientists are no closer to classifying it than they were several years ago. But as more interactions occur with the shark, scientists hope to get close enough soon to take a sample and determine, without a shadow of a doubt, exactly what species the black mako truly is.
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