The Great White's Bite Power, Much Weaker Than Thought

This is the most dangerous and spectacular predatory fish: with a strong rocket-like body, up to 7.2 m (24 ft) long and up to 3.4 tons heavy, the white shark can kill from fish (sharks included) to large seals and dolphins. Swimmers and surfers (and sometimes even boats) have no chance.

Now a digital analysis of a great white shark's jaws could come with the first precise data on the real full bite force inflicted by a great white. The new research has found that the killer damage seems to be due rather to razor-sharp saw-like teeth and not the sheer bite force. When applying the bite, the shark often shakes the prey from side to side to produce a sawing action. After that, the shark lets the victim bleed to death.

Daniel Huber, a biologist at the University of Tampa in Florida, made measurements on a 8-ft (2.4-m) great white shark' size and placement of the jaw muscle. The shark was found entangled in nets off an Australian shore.

"We are figuring out in three dimensions the leverage of all of these jaw muscles," Huber told LiveScience.

The jaws function like a set of pliers and the longer the handles, the higher the force. Using the dissections, the team developed a 3D computer simulation of a great white full-force bite. The results will be compared with those from tiger and bull sharks, which, after the great white, form the podium of the human attacking sharks.

"The white has the narrowest head of the three, so it has less space for jaw muscles. Consequently, we're expecting that it will have a lower bite force on a pound-for-pound basis." said Huber.

But the great white remains the most dangerous due to its size, massiveness and speed.

"Much of the damage inflicted by white sharks is due to their teeth, and not necessarily to the force," said Huber.