Abstract
The viscera of mako Isurus oxyrinchus and porbeagle Lamna nasus sharks are significantly warmer than the water. The large suprahepatic rete mirabile in these fish is identified as a heat exchanger which retains metabolic heat to warm the visceral organs. An argument is presented that the efficiency of heat exchange in the rete must be greater than 97% to maintain the observed tissue temperatures and that this requirement explains the large size of the rete. A venous passage with a muscular wall which runs through the suprahepatic rete could allow blood to bypass the heat exchanger, and its presence suggests a simple mechanism for controlling temperature. However, measurements of temperature by acoustic telemetry from freeswimming sharks over a 4.5-day period do not give a convincing indication that stomach temperature is altered in a manner independent of the environment.
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