Shortfin Mako Shark

Shortfin mako are the fastest sharks, reaching speeds over 45 mph and capable of spectacular leaps 20 feet above water. Like tuna, they've evolved regional endothermy - warming their eyes, brain, and muscles for enhanced performance. They're essentially warm-blooded sharks, paying the metabolic cost for speed advantages that cold-blooded sharks cannot match. They hunt tuna and swordfish - prey that would outpace any normal shark.

The mako represents convergent evolution with tuna: similar physiological innovations (endothermy, streamlined body, high metabolism) evolved independently in fish and shark lineages to solve the same problem (catching fast prey). When the competitive environment rewards speed, different lineages evolve toward similar solutions. The mako and tuna arrived at nearly identical physiology from vastly different evolutionary starting points.

For business, mako sharks demonstrate that competitive environments select for similar solutions regardless of organizational starting point. When an industry rewards speed, different companies - startups, incumbents, acquirers - converge on similar organizational structures, similar technologies, and similar strategies. The specific implementation may differ (shark versus fish), but the functional requirements (speed, metabolism, investment) converge. Understanding the environmental selection pressure predicts what successful competitors will look like, regardless of their origins.