Explainer: What Young Great White Sharks Eat

SYDNEY — Scientists from Australia say the most detailed study to date showed that great white sharks hunted more seabed-dwelling prey than they expected. This paper is published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

Researchers from the University of Sydney studied the stomach content of 50 juvenile great white sharks caught by the New South Wales Shark Mesh Program, according to a news release from the university.

Scientists found mid-water fish like salmon made up 32 percent of the sharks' diet, bottom-dwelling fish such as stargazers made 17 percent, reef fish like Eastern Blue gropers 5 percent, and batoid fish like rays made 15 percent.

Sharks also eat cephalopods, and they usually begin feeding on marine mammals and other sharks after growing larger in size.

The study tracked the seasonal migration of Australia's great white sharks and found that they ranged from the coastal seas of southern New Queensland to northern Tasmania. Sharks range further as they mature.