Records of the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), from the western Indian Ocean

We present 22 records of the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, from the western Indian Ocean. These include 17 records from southern and western Madagascar, two from Zanzibar, one from Kenya as well as the first two records of this species from Reunion. While the presence of the species seems to be sporadic in Zanzibar waters and rare in the vicinity of Reunion and Mauritius, the documented specimens from Madagascar suggest that C. carcharias is often present along the southern coast of the island during February and March. Large individuals could arrive here from South Africa after crossing cold currents in the Mozambique Channel.