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Great white shark

Watanabe and colleagues 2019 estimated 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s) from tailbeat frequency during a filmed seal chase. The propeller stalled, so this is not a speedometer reading.

A great white shark can swim about 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), an estimate.

Also known as Carcharodon carcharias, white shark
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Top speed

Published as 6.7 m/sPublished as 6.7 m/sPublished as 6.7 m/s

Watanabe et al. 2019, Marine Ecology Progress Series. One filmed seal chase: lateral acceleration 3.7 g, tailbeat 3.3 Hz, estimated swim speed 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), duration 19 s, depth 0 feet (0 m), upward. The propeller stalled and the speed was estimated from tailbeat frequency. The figure is 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), qualifier estimated. Waller et al. 2023 Table 4 reprints 15.0 mph (6.70 m/s) and labels the method a speedometer. The primary paper's estimate is the one that counts.

EstimatedMarine Ecology Progress Series (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 64% of Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 23% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 14 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast can a great white shark swim?

A great white shark can swim about 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), an estimate.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Great white shark is labeled Estimated. Calculated or approximated rather than directly timed.

What is the source?

The figure cites Marine Ecology Progress Series, “Hunting behaviour of white sharks recorded by animal-borne video and accelerometers.”

Where does Great white shark rank?

Great white shark is 2nd of 10 on Fastest Fish & Sharks.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Watanabe and colleagues in 2019 estimated about 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s) for a white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, from tailbeat frequency during a filmed seal chase. The propeller stalled, so this is not a speedometer reading.

Species
Carcharodon carcharias
Estimate
15.0 mph (6.7 m/s)
Method
Tailbeat, filmed chase

  1. Tailbeats, because the propeller stalled

    The speedometer on the tag did not finish the job. The 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s) figure is estimated from how fast the tail was beating while the shark chased a seal on film. It is better than a campfire number and weaker than Waller's logged mako burst.

  2. A hunt, not a straight trial

    A seal chase has turns. The 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s) estimate belongs to that hunt. It is not a measured top speed in a straight line, and the entry says the propeller stalled so nobody pretends it is.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 24.1km/h15.0mph6.7m/s13.0knRanked figure

    Watanabe et al. 2019, Marine Ecology Progress Series. One filmed seal chase: lateral acceleration 3.7 g, tailbeat 3.3 Hz, estimated swim speed 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), duration 19 s, depth 0 feet (0 m), upward. The propeller stalled and the speed was estimated from tailbeat frequency. The figure is 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), qualifier estimated. Waller et al. 2023 Table 4 reprints 15.0 mph (6.70 m/s) and labels the method a speedometer. The primary paper's estimate is the one that counts.

    Waller's speedometer label disagrees with the primary paper. The rank follows Watanabe and stays estimated. A higher tailbeat with no speed estimate is not a separate figure.

    Estimated
    Marine Ecology Progress Series (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Species
Carcharodon carcharias
Estimate
15.0 mph (6.7 m/s)
Method
Tailbeat during a filmed chase

Context

Background

Watanabe and colleagues, Marine Ecology Progress Series 2019, filmed one white shark attacking a seal. During that event the propeller speed sensor stalled. They estimated swim speed from tailbeat frequency: 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), with a tailbeat of 3.3 Hz, held about 19 seconds. The paper calls 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s) a conservative estimate of top speed. The figure is 15.0 mph (6.7 m/s), qualifier estimated.

Waller and colleagues 2023 reprint the cell as 15.0 mph (6.70 m/s) and put Speedometer in the method column. That label is not how the primary paper describes the number, so it does not change the qualifier. A caged juvenile tuna is a different experiment and is not this row.

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