great white shark teeth…
“DNA was extracted from the 10-year-old upper lateral tooth successfully and revealed that the shark originated from the Australian subpopulations”
While working with shark fishermen, we met one who captured a legendary Great White, a tooth was kept from the animal and tested for DNA 13 years later… Captain Johan from a boat called, Palau Mas that Project Hiu works with, was part of a shark week episode called tropic jaws & now part of a scientific breakthrough…
There are nine known subpopulations of great white sharks: Southern-Western, Western North Atlantic, Northeastern Pacific, Eastern Australian and New Zealand, Mediterranean, South African, Northwest Pacific, South American Atlantic and South American Pacific.
Using a sample collected from the upper lateral tooth of the White shark he captured over ten years ago and comparing it to the publicly available mitochondrial DNA database, we aimed to determine which subpopulation this White shark may be most closely related to, thus suggesting site of origin.
DNA was extracted from the 10-year-old upper lateral tooth successfully and revealed that the shark originated from the Australian subpopulations. The available database does not differentiate between the two subpopulations of Southern-Western and Eastern Australian and New Zealand. Therefore, determining the specific Australian subpopulation that this shark was from was not possible.
This study provides an initial step to further understanding the true range of this highly migratory top predator. Presently the range associated with both Australian subpopulations has not been demonstrated to extend into Indonesian waters.
Cite this article: O’Connell CP, Prasetyo AP, Stewart M, Fahmi (2024). From where I belong: using mitochondrial DNA analysis to investigate the origin of a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) captured in Indonesian waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
A tooth from a Great White shark, kept by fishermen here in Indonesia
