The carcass of a great white shark washed ashore in Aptos on Sunday morning.
The shark was found about 7 a.m. on Beer Can Beach, near Seascape Resort, marine officials said.
Officials initially told KSBW the shark was an adult male, but marine biologist Giancarlo Thomae later said it was a juvenile. The shark measured 8 feet, nine inches long, weighed about 500 pounds and was estimated to be 5 years old.
"I have been kayaking with these sharks for the past three years and documenting their sizes, numbers, genders and behaviors from a kayak while getting drone and GoPro footage," Thomae said.
The shark had fresh puncture wounds and scars from feeding on sea lions and had sea lion fur in its jaws, Thomae said.
The carcass was removed about 2:30 p.m. and transported to a veterinary pathologist to determine the cause of death.
Thomae suspects the shark died from the same fungal infection that killed a great white last year that washed up in Capitola.
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California Fish and Wildlife officials will perform a necropsy Tuesday.
