A mako is a warm-bodied shark. It keeps its body warmer than the water around it. It is 6 to 8 degrees Celsius above the water temperature. A web of blood vessels holds in body heat.
A mako needs senses to match its body. Makos have excellent eyesight. Millions of rod cells and a layer that reflects light back into the retina give them keen vision in low light. They also have a well-developed sense of smell. A pair of nares sits under the snout.
A mako is a top predator that hunts fast fish such as swordfish and tuna. In the northwest Atlantic, bluefish made up about 92 percent of the diet of studied makos by weight. Its large, sharp teeth have smooth edges.
How fast can a mako swim? As of November 2026, the shortfin mako is considered the fastest shark in the world. Scientists think it can swim faster than any other shark or ray, but few direct speed measurements have been reported. In a 2023 study, tags worn by two free-swimming makos measured their swimming speed directly. They cruised at an average of 0.90 metres per second, and the fastest burst the tags recorded was 5.02 metres per second, from a female mako 2 metres long.
A big shortfin mako can weigh about 150 kilograms. A mako caught off Nova Scotia in 2004 weighed 1,035 pounds (470 kilograms).
Makos are slow to mature. They have young only every three years. That makes them vulnerable to overfishing. As of November 2026, the IUCN Red List lists the shortfin mako as Endangered. Shortfin makos are listed in CITES Appendix II, which monitors international trade. As of November 2022, NOAA Fisheries decided the shortfin mako does not warrant listing under the US Endangered Species Act.
Shortfin makos are usually solitary. Mako sharks are non-territorial, and little is known about the size of their home ranges.
Words to know
- solitary: living alone
- nares: nose holes
- bluefish: a sea fish
- retina: back of eye
