The great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, is the largest predatory shark in the world (the whale shark and basking shark are larger but feed on plankton). It lives in the coastal surface waters of all major oceans but dives to depths of up to 1,200 meters. It hunts large marine vertebrates such as seals, fish, and penguins, as well as turtles and seabirds. The great white shark has several rows of teeth, which are triangular and serrated. These teeth are easily lost and replaced by others that form inside the mouth and then rotate outwards.
Given that great whites can live for up to 70 years, a single specimen can produce up to 20,000 teeth in its lifetime. Our specimen, captured off the coast of Venice in 1823 is a female, as suggested by its 4.70 meters in length (males are smaller) and the lack of claspers (the male’s copulatory organs).
In order to transfer the specimen to the new museum, it was necessary to demolish the wall of the old site, slide it out on a specially built ‘sledge,’ lower it onto a huge freight elevator, and transport it by truck through Padua. Then, by means of a tall crane, the specimen was ‘flown’ into this room through the window.
