What is the name of the shortfin mako shark?

The shortfin mako shark is named Chum.

Chum is one of the three sharks who form a fish-eating support group in Finding Nemo. He joins Bruce, a great white shark, and Anchor, a hammerhead shark, in trying to follow their motto that fish are friends, not food. Chum is recognizable by the fishing hook caught in one of his nostrils.

The name can be confusing because the word “chum” also means pieces of bait used to attract fish. That meaning fits the film’s ocean setting and gives the character a deliberately shark-related name, but it is still his personal name rather than a description of his species.

Chum is sometimes mistaken for Bruce because Bruce is the group’s most prominent member and the shark who struggles dramatically with his instinct to eat fish. Chum is specifically the shortfin mako, a real shark species known for speed and powerful swimming. Anchor, by contrast, is the hammerhead. Together, the trio encounter Marlin and Dory while holding their underwater recovery meeting.