Posted by Ken Kurtis on April 03, 2001 at 20:52:43:
In Reply to: here is the pic posted by Chris on April 03, 2001 at 19:38:20:
My guess is this is a blue shark (though Great White makes a much better story).
The snout seems a bit too pointy for a GW. Also note the dorsal fin, which appears rather stubby. A GW dorsal would be a bit taller and more pointy. Also, the dorsal on a GW starts right where the pec ends (on the body) but if you look at the pix, it seems like there's a bit of separation between the end of the pec and the dorsal, which - again - is more charactaristic of a blue.
In fact, if you get out the Paul Humann "Coastal Fish" book (which should be an essential part of every SoCal diver's library), and turn to page 191, you'll see that the line-drawing profile of the blue shark (top pix) is almost identical to the shark in the posted photo.
Great White's a better story but Blue Shark is probably more factual.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, Ca.