On the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), preserved in the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne.

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Mar. Life 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, 1758),
conservé au Musée zoologique de Lausanne
Alessandro De Maddalena*, Olivier Glaizot**, Guy Oliver***
* Italian Great White Shark Data Bank (Banca Dati Italiana Squalo Bianco), via L. Ariosto 4, I-20l45 Milano, Italy.
a-demaddalena@tiscali.it
**Musée Cantonal de Zoologie, case postale 448, CH-1000 Lausanne 17, Switzerland.
***Université de Perpignan, Laboratoire de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 52 avenue de Villeneuve,
F-66860 Perpignan Cédex, 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. Mar. Life, 13 (1-2): 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 (Mediterranean Sea), on 13
th
October 1956, is one of the three largest specimens
ever measured accurately. Description and morphometrics of the shark mould are given.
RÉSUMÉ
De Maddalena, A., O. Glaizot, G. Oliver - [À propos du grand requin blanc, Carcharodon carcharias
(Linnaeus, 1758), conservé au Musée zoologique de Lausanne ]. Mar. Life, 13 (1-2): 53-59.
Le moulage d'un spécimen femelle de 5.89 mètres 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 fût capturé le 13 octobre 1956 au large de Sète, en France (Mer Méditerranée)
et il est l'un des trois plus grands spécimens mesurés de manière précise. La description et la morphométrie de ce
requin sont données.
INTRODUCTION
The maximum size of the great white
shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758),
has long been debated and remains a subject of
controversy. It is assumed that this species can
reach at least 6 metres in total length. Further,
many larger specimens are mentioned in the
literature, but almost ever without verifiable
evidence of their real size (Ellis & McCosker,
1991). De Maddalena et al. (2001) analysed
photographic evidences of the largest white
sharks caught in the Mediterranean Sea and they
concluded that C. carcharias can reach at least
640-660 cm in total length and very probably
even more.
Unfortunately, specimens around 6 metres
in length have been measured accurately only
very rarely. Irrefutable evidence of very large
specimens, represented by complete taxidermied
specimens or moulds prepared directly from fresh
specimens, are very rare. The primarily cause of
this paucity of data is the logistical difficulties
presented by the preservation and preparation of
large sharks. Methods of estimating the length of
sharks from which skeletal parts are usually
preserved - in particular teeth, jaws and

vertebrae - have been investigated by various
authors (Randall, 1973, 1987; Gottfried et al.,
1996; Mollet et al., 1996). However, the best and
only irrefutable way to obtain the length of a
large white shark remains accurate measurement
directly from the complete specimen, if possible
following the standards presented in Compagno
(1984) and Mollet et al. (1996).
For the aforementioned reasons, the
existence of a complete mould obtained directly
from a 5.89 metres great white shark caught in
the Mediterranean Sea, preserved in the Museum
of Zoology in Lausanne (MZL) is of particular
interest.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
On 13
th
October 1956, a large female white
shark was caught off Sète, in the "Golfe du Lion",
off the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The following details about the capture were
reported by the local newspaper, Midi libre. The
shark was caught in the early morning 3 miles
(4.8 kilometres) offshore from Maguelone
(Hérault, France). It was trapped in a tuna drifnet
of the fishing vessel, "Rosina-Raphael". The shark
was landed in Sète at about 9 o'clock. It was
reported to measure 5.89 metres in length and
have a maximum girth of 4 metres. The liver
alone weighed 360 kg and the total weight was
estimated to be about 2 tonnes. Its stomach
contained remains of 2 unidentified dolphins,
each measuring about 1.80 metres (Anonymous,
1956). Some good photographs of the fresh
specimen were taken after its capture
(unfortunately, it has not been possible to obtain
permission to reproduce it in this work). The
shark was examined by M. Euzet of the Marine
Biological Station of Sète and M. Baer of the
University of Neuchatel, Switzerland. Thanks to
the interest of the latter, the shark was acquired
by the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne (Musée
Cantonal de Zoologie de Lausanne), Switzerland.
Here a good mould was prepared by taxidermist
Eugène Küttel. The model features the original
fins and teeth, while the rest has been
reconstructed via casts from the body of the
original specimen (Fig. 1).
Detailed morphometric measurements
were made by Manuel Fischer of the great white
shark mould at MZL, following the methods of
Compagno (1984), adding measurement of total
length with the caudal fin in a 'natural' position,
TLn, as indicated in Mollet et al. (1996). Since the
mould also features the specimen's original teeth,
the largest upper anterior tooth was measured
following Mollet et al. (1996), but - since the
tooth bases were not visible - only the
measurements of the enamel (smaller enamel
height UAE1, greater enamel height UAE2,
enamel width UAW) were considered.
Regarding the two ways in which the total
length was measured, since the mould has been
prepared with the caudal fin in a 'natural'
position, the total length with the caudal fin in the
natural position (TLn) has been measured
directly, while the total length with the caudal fin
in the depressed position (TOT) has been
obtained by adding the precaudal length (PRC) to
the dorsal caudal margin (CDM).
Figure 1 - The cast of the 5.89 metre Great White Shark caught off Sète, France, in 1956, featuring
the original fins and teeth, on display at the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne (Photo by Guy Oliver).
/ Le moulage d'un grand requin blanc de 5.89 m capturé au large de Sète, France, en 1956,
exposé au Musée de Zoologie de Lausanne. Les ailerons et les dents sont d'origine (Photo Guy
Oliver).

RESULTS
Although the mould created by Küttel
presents some deformations of the snout, lower
jaw, and lower surfaces, it is evident that the
taxidermist skillfully executed an accurate
representation of the original specimen on which
he had the rare opportunity to work. The
deformations, particularly of the head, can be
attributed readily to the partial deterioration to
which the shark was undoubtely subjected after
its death, Moreover, these deformities were very
probably accentuated by the specimen's storage
during transport to Lausanne. With respect to the
observable deformations of the lower parts of the
mould, it must be borne in mind that the
taxidermist received the shark after it was
already gutted, with the belly cut and
consequently deformed.
The morphometric measurements taken
from the mould of the shark and on the largest of
its upper anterior teeth are reported in Table I. It
must be considered that some of the reported
measurements present some differences with
respect to the proportions of the original
specimen, due to the observed deformations of
the mould. Authors compared morphometric
measurements taken from this specimen to
measurements taken from a well prepared 4.0 m
TOT taxidermied white shark preserved in the
Museum of Natural History in Genova, Italy, with
catalogue number C.E. 27517 (De Maddalena,
2000 b) and the proportions resulted very close.
The 5.83 m value obtained for TOT confirm
the correctness of the length of 5.89 m reported
for the fresh-caught specimen in Anonymous
(1956). The small (6 cm) difference in TOT is
attributable to various factors, such as differences
in the way measurements were taken, artefacts
of preparation of the mould, the deformations
noted, and differences in position of the specimen
while the measurements were taken.
The specimen discussed in this work has
been reported previously in de Beaumont (1957),
indicating an approximate length of 5 m and a
weight of “at least 1.5 tonnes”, and Quignard et
al. (1962), but the length reported by this source
(490 cm) was erroneous; moreover it has been
cited in Séret (1996). The specimen cited in
Fergusson (1996) dated 1976 and reportedly but
unconfirmedly measuring 4.5 metres is almost
certainly based on the same specimen that is the
object of this work, reported with an erroneous
date and length.
This specimen is not the only white shark
recorded from Sète, as three other specimens
have been caught in the same area: a specimen
about 4 m long was captured in August 1875, a
2.42 m specimen caught in 1876 were reported
by Moreau, 1881; and a female specimen
reportedly having a length of 6 m was caught on
January 9
th
1991 (Anonymous, 1991; Quignard &
Raibaut, 1993; Séret, 1996). On the basis of
photographic evidence, De Maddalena et al.
(2001) estimate the latter specimen measured
5.9 m TOT. This specimen was bought by a
wholesale fishmonger in Sète, offered for sale in
the Rungis market, and bought by a supermarket
in Montargis (Licciardi, Azais, personal
communication). Touret (1992) reported the
same history for a specimen caught in Antibes
during the same month, but according to F.
Calviera, a fisherman in Antibes since 1956, it
was not a great white shark caught in this
harbour. Consequently it seems that only one
great white shark has been caught in Sète during
January 1991.
DISCUSSION
Worldwide, two other comparably large
white sharks have been preserved complete: a
5.22 m TLn female caught in Kvamer, Croatia, on
May 29
th
1906, preserved via taxidermy in the
Trieste Natural History Museum, Italy (De
Maddalena, 2000 a, 2000 b), and a 5.3 m female
caught near Cananéia, Brazil, on December 8th
1992 and preserved via taxidermy in the Victor
Sadowsky Museum in Cananéia (Arfelli, Amorim,
1993; Mollet et al., 1996; Mollet, personal
communication). The shark described in the
present work, of which a mould is preserved in
the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne, surpasses
the length of both these specimens and so can be
considered the largest of any complete white
shark presently preserved.
Some reliable cases of white sharks
surpassing the size of the Lausanne specimen are
reported in literature, but most of these were not
measured accurately and therefore their claimed
sizes are estimates and consequently cannot be
regarded as precise. A large specimen caught in
February 1839 off Civitanova, Italy, was reported
measuring approximately 6 m in length and was
later estimated to be 6.02 m TL, but it is not
clear if it was ever accurately measured (De
Maddalena, 1998). An enormous specimen
caught off Piombino, Italy, in 1886 was reported
measuring approximately 8-9 m (Biagi, 1995),
but at our knowledge it was never measured. A
specimen caught off Enfola, Italy, on August 12th
1938 was estimated to be 5.97-6.13 m TOT, but
was never measured (De Maddalena et al.,
2001). An approximately 6.408 m female was
reportedly caught off Cojimar, Cuba, in 1945
(Bigelow, Schroeder, 1948; Guitart-Manday,
Milera, 1974): even if the contestation of this
case presented by Randall (1987) is not
acceptable (De Maddalena et al., 2001), it is not
clear if the specimen in question was ever
accurately measured. A male caught off Camogli,
Italy, on March 16
th
1954 was reported to
measure 7 m in Tortonese (1965) but its length
was contested by Fergusson (1996). A female
caught off Ganzirri, Italy, on June 19
th
1961 was
estimated to be 6.66 m TOT, but was never
measured (De Maddalena et al., 2001). Another
specimen caught off Ganzirri, Italy, on March 9th
1965 was reported measuring 6.20 m in length
(Berdar, Riccobono, 1986) but Celona et al.
(2001) hypothesised that it was measured over
the curve of the body. A specimen caught off
Isola la Formica, Italy, in May 1974 was reported
measuring approximately 6.2-6.4 m (and later

Table I - Measurements of the cast of a large great white shark and its largest upper anterior tooth, on exhibition
at the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne (following teminology and parameters of Compagno, 1984, and Mollet et al.,
1996). All measurements are given in centimetres. / Mesures du moulage du grand requin blanc exposé au Musée
de Lausanne, ainsi que des plus grandes dents de la mâchoire supérieure (selon la terminologie de Compagno,
1984, et Mollet et al., 1996). Toutes les mesures sont données en centimètres.
Abbreviation Measurement cm %TOT
TOT total length (caudal fin in depressed position) 583 100.00 %
TLn total length (caudal fin in natural position) 565 96.91 %
FOR fork length 510 87.48 %
PRC precaudal length 458 78.56 %
PD2 pre-second dorsal length 400 68.61 %
PD1 pre-first dorsal length 220 37.74 %
HDL head length 152 26.07 %
PG1 prebranchial length 122 20.93 %
POB preorbital length 32 5.49 %
PP1 prepectoral length 145 24.87 %
PP2 prepelvic length 330 56.60 %
SVL snout-vent length 340 58.32 %
PAL preanal length 400 68.61 %
IDS interdorsal space 130 22.30 %
DCS dorsal-caudal space 55 9.43 %
PPS pectoral-pelvic space 155 26.59 %
PAS pelvic-anal space 50 8.58 %
ACS anal-caudal space 50 8.58 %
PCA pelvic-caudal space 100 17.15 %
VCL vent-caudal length 225 38.59 %
PRN prenarial length 22 3.77 %
POR preoral length 35 6.00 %
ING intergill length 40 6.86 %
GS1 first gill slit height 55 9.43 %
GS2 second gill slit height 58 9.95 %
GS3 third gill slit height 60 10.29 %
GS4 fourth gill slit height 60 10.29 %
GS5 fifth gill slit height 60 10.29 %
P1A pectoral anterior margin 105 18.01 %
P1B pectoral base 45 7.72 %
P1I pectoral inner margin 25 4.29 %
P1P pectoral posterior margin 85 14.58 %
P1H pectoral height 95 16.29 %
CDM dorsal caudal margin 125 21.44 %
CPV preventral caudal margin 80 13.72 %
CPU upper postventral caudal margin 90 15.44 %
CPL lower postventral caudal margin 55 9.43 %
CFW caudal fork width 50 8.58 %
CFL caudal fork length 55 9.43 %
CST subterminal caudal margin 8 1.37 %
CSW subterminal caudal margin 15 2.57 %
CTR terminal caudal margin 25 4.29 %
CTL terminal caudal lobe 30 5.15 %

Abbreviation Measurement cm %TOT
D1L first dorsal length 62 10.63 %
D1A first dorsal anterior margin 70 12.01 %
D1B first dorsal base 49 8.40 %
D1H first dorsal height 60 10.29 %
D1I first dorsal inner margin 13 2.23 %
D1P first dorsal posterior margin 60 10.29 %
D2L second dorsal length 13 2.23 %
D2A second dorsal anterior margin 14 2.40 %
D2B second dorsal base 5 0.86 %
D2H second dorsal height 10 1.71 %
D2I second dorsal inner margin 8 1.37 %
D2P second dorsal posterior margin 8 1.37 %
P2L pelvic length 45 7.72 %
P2A pelvic anterior margin 25 4.29 %
P2B pelvic base 30 5.15 %
P2H pelvic height 20 3.43 %
P2I pelvic inner margin length 15 2.57 %
P2P pelvic posterior margin length 40 6.86 %
ANL anal length 18 3.09 %
ANA anal anterior margin 15 2.57 %
ANB anal base 10 1.71 %
ANH anal height 8 1.37 %
ANI anal inner margin 8 1.37 %
ANP anal posterior margin 10 1.71 %
HDH head height 100 17.15 %
TRH trunk height 120 20.58 %
ABH abdomen height 100 17.15 %
TAH tail height 55 9.43 %
CPH caudal peduncle height 15 2.57 %
DPO first dorsal midpoint - pelvic origin 100 17.15 %
PDI pelvic midpoint - first dorsal insertion 75 12.86 %
PDO pelvic midpoint - second dorsal origin 40 6.86 %
DAO second dorsal origin - anal origin 20 3.43 %
DAI second dorsal insertion - anal insertion 20 3.43 %
MOL mouth length 30 5.15 %
MOW mouth width 50 8.58 %
INW internarial space 30 5.15 %
INO interorbital space 30 5.15 %
HDW head width 95 16.29 %
TRW trunk width 90 15.44 %
ABW abdomen width 85 14.58 %
TAW tail width 45 7.72 %
CPW caudal peduncle width 25 4.29 %
GIR girth 355 60.89 %
UAE1 largest upper anterior tooth enamel height 4 0.69 %
UAE2 largest upper anterior tooth enamel height 4,6 0.79 %
UAW largest upper anterior tooth enamel width 4,3 0.74 %

estimated to be 5.94 m TOT), but it is not known
whether the length was measured as TOT or as
TLn (De Maddalena et al., 2001). A male caught
off Gallipoli, Italy, on September 18
th
1979 was
reported measuring 6.20 m in length (Piccinno,
Piccinno, 1979) but it is not known whether the
length was measured in a straight line or over the
curve of the body. A specimen caught off Dakar,
Senegal, in 1982, was estimated to be longer
than 8 m, but was never accurately measured
(Barrull, Mate, 2001; De Maddalena et al., 2001).
A female white shark caught on August 4
th
1983
off Alberton, Prince Edward Island, Canada,
reported to measure 6.096 m in Mollet et al.
(1996) was, according to Ellis, McCosker (1991)
never measured. A female caught in Gaansbai,
South Africa, on January 17
th
1987, reportedly
5.67-6.00 m TOT (Gottfried et al., 1996; Mollet
et al., 1996), was likewise never measured
accurately (Cliff, Ferreira, Mollet, personal
communication). A female specimen caught on
April 1st 1987 near Kangaroo Island, Australia,
was estimated to be longer than 6.9 m, but was
never measured (Cappo, 1988; Mollet et al.,
1996). Another female white shark captured in
Filfla, Malta, on April 17
th
1987, previously
claimed to be accurately measured and
reportedly 7.14 m in length (Abela, 1989), has
since fallen under serious doubt (Mollet et al.,
1996; Fergusson, 1998); later it was estimated
to be 6.68-6.81 m TOT, but it remains not clear if
it was ever accurately measured (De Maddalena
et al., 2001). A female caught off Malindi, Kenya,
on 16
th
July 1996, reportedly about 6.4 m in
length and estimated 5.7 m TLn from vertebral
size, was never measured (Cliff et al., 2000). For
a 5.80 m female caught in Favignana, ltaly, on
April 24th 1980 (De Maddalena, 2002; Cataldo,
personal communication), it is not known whether
the length was measured as TOT or as TLn. On
the basis of photographic evidence, the authors
deem that the measurement was TOT.
In conclusion, it seems that only two white
sharks that were accurately measured surpass
the length of the specimen that is the object of
this study. These are the following: a 5.944 m
female captured off Ledge Point, Australia on
March 22
nd
1984 (Randall, 1987; Mollet et al.,
1996), and a female caught in Bunbury,
Australia, on July 2
nd
1991, that measured 5.74 m
TLn (Mollet et al., 1996) and 5.29 fork length
(FOR) (Hubbell, personal communication); the
5.54 m TLn reported for this specimen by Hubbell
(1996) is very probably erroneous.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Very special thanks to Rick Martin, who
very kindly edited the English text of this work,
and to Manuel Fischer for the help in taking the
measurements on the shark. Thanks also to
Henry Mollet, Jeff Seigel, Gioacchino Cataldo,
Sarah Fowler, Henri Cappetta, Gordon Hubbell,
Geremy Cliff, Craig Ferreira, Louis Euzet, Serge
Licciardi, Claude Azais and Francis Calviera for
the information furnished on large white shark
specimens. A particular thanks from Alessandro
De Maddalena goes to Alessandra Baldi.
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balnéaire, les attaques de requins ne sont
plus officiellement recensées. New Look,
92 : 74-76.
Received January 2002; accepted December 2002.
Reçu janvier 2002; accepté en décembre 2002.