Auckland Museum today made its proud announcement that its "long, sleek" great white shark thawing in its loading bay, awaiting dissection is in fact a girl.
On Thursday the museum and the Department of Conservation (DOC) will perform a necropsy, or fish autopsy, on the shark and the public has been invited along to watch.
The free event is to raise awareness of the threats facing this vulnerable and unfairly maligned species, museum curator Tom Trnski said.
The three metre, 300kg shark was found in the Kaipara Harbour on Monday last week, tangled and dead in a gill net.
A protected species in New Zealand, the great white was recovered and frozen by DOC staff, and was now defrosting in preparation for the necropsy.
The procedure would be carried out by Clinton Duffy from DOC's marine conservation section and Dr Trnski.
"The great white arrived this morning and is currently wrapped in muslin to keep it moist while it thaws, however I did manage to carry out a cursory examination and confirm we have a female," Mr Trnski said. "It's exciting to consider what we'll discover about this magnificent species during the necropsy. This is the first time the museum has ever carried out a public necropsy, and anticipation is building."
Auckland Museum's website will be screening footage of the great white necropsy from 2pm on Thursday.
They will look at the shark's stomach contents and measure its internal organs.
NZPA