What is the largest predatory shark?

The great white shark is the largest predatory shark. Its scientific name is Carcharodon carcharias, and it is one of the largest living predatory fish. Reliably measured individuals can exceed 6 metres in length and weigh several tonnes, although sensational historical reports of much larger sharks were later shown to be exaggerated or poorly measured.

Great whites are apex predators with a broad diet. Juveniles mainly eat fish and cephalopods, while larger animals commonly target energy-rich marine mammals such as seals and sea lions. Their roughly 300 triangular, serrated teeth are continuously replaced, and a massive fatty liver helps provide buoyancy and stores energy.

The wording matters: the whale shark is the largest shark overall, but it is a filter-feeding animal rather than a predatory hunter. Megalodon was probably much larger than any modern shark, but it is extinct. Great whites are also not the unstoppable man-eaters portrayed by Jaws; most encounters with humans are investigative bites rather than normal feeding behavior. Orcas are known to prey on great whites in some regions.