The Largest Thresher Shark on Record

Nicknamed “The Fox of the Ocean,” thresher sharks are found in all temperate and tropical oceans everywhere in the world. Their genus name is derived from the Greek word for fox. This is due to ancient beliefs that the sharks were as cunning as foxes. There are three thresher shark species in the genus Alopias: common threshers (Alopias vulpinus), pelagic threshers (Alopias pelagicus), and bigeye threshers (Alopias superciliosus). Keep reading to learn more about these sharks and find out just how large the largest thresher shark on record actually is.

How to Identify Thresher Sharks

The thresher shark is known for the exceptionally long top lobe of its caudal fin. This lobe can be as long as the shark’s whole body. Its head is short and cone-shaped, and it has a small mouth. A thresher shark’s teeth are curved, smooth-edged, and extremely sharp. In common and bigeye threshers, the teeth are much pointier and more triangular than those of pelagic threshers. These sharks also have small dorsal fins and large pectoral fins.

Thresher sharks are slender, with skin color ranging from brownish to bluish or purple-gray on their dorsal side, and lighter shades on their ventral side. Coloration differs by species. Common threshers are dark green, bigeye threshers are brown, and pelagic threshers are blue. So, the three thresher shark species can be distinguished by the primary color of their dorsal surface.

The Thresher Shark’s Habitat and Diet

The range of thresher sharks varies according to species. Common thresher sharks are distributed along the continental shelves of North America and Asia in the North Pacific. The other two species, bigeye and pelagic thresher sharks, are more common in the warmer waters of the Central and Western Pacific.

Generally, thresher sharks are found in tropical and cold sea waters worldwide. Although they are occasionally seen in shallow coastal waters, thresher sharks are primarily pelagic. They prefer the open ocean and are most commonly found at depths of 1,600 feet or less. Common thresher sharks have a preference for coastal waters over continental shelves.

Thresher sharks mainly feed on pelagic schooling fish such as mackerel, herring, bluefish, and juvenile tuna. They also eat mollusks such as squid and cuttlefish, as well as crustaceans and seabirds. Thresher sharks are generally solitary, but may occasionally hunt in groups of two or three. They are one of the few sharks known to fully jump out of the water, or breach, using their elongated tails to propel themselves. Thresher sharks swipe their enormous tails like a whip when hunting smaller prey. The powerful waves generated by their tail swipes stun fish, making them easier to catch.

How Big Do Thresher Sharks Normally Get?

The common thresher is by far the largest of the three thresher sharks. They can reach a total length of around 20 feet and weigh over 1,100 pounds. The bigeye thresher is the next largest, reaching a length of 16 feet and a maximum of around 750 pounds. At just 10 feet long, the pelagic thresher is the smallest species and rarely exceeds 200 pounds.

What Is the Largest Thresher Shark on Record?

According to the International Game Fish Association, the women’s 37kg (80 pound) line class world record was set by Dianne North on February 8, 1981. North caught a bigeye thresher that weighed 802 pounds. The shark was caught near Tutukaka, New Zealand using Kahawai salmon.

The all-tackle world record for the largest thresher on record was set by David L. Hannah on February 26, 1983. Hannah used Kahawai salmon to catch this common thresher shark in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The shark weighed 767 pounds 3 oz.

However, the largest thresher shark ever caught was a common thresher estimated at 32 feet in length. It was caught in a commercial fishing net and not on a rod and line, so it does not hold an official world record. Roger Nowell, the captain of the FV Imogen, caught the shark near the Land’s End peninsula off the coast of Cornwall. The giant thresher shark was said to have weighed an enormous 1,250 pounds. This incredible shark was auctioned off in 2007.