Shark teeth are lost frequently and are prized gifts in many regions of the world. Shark is a delicacy that is eaten in many areas.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material; ecotourism ; research and education
The only know predators of adult grey nurse sharks are humans. Human hunting has caused population declines, both as a result of shark fishing and persecution because their fierce appearance has caused them to be mistaken for other, more dangerous, species of sharks. They are also accidentally caught in commercial fishing nets. Young sharks are eaten by other sharks.
Known Predators:
The dorsal side of grey nurse sharks is grey, the underside is a dirty white color. These are stout-bodied sharks with metallic brown or reddish colored spots on the sides. When a grey nurse shark pup is born it is typically between 115 and 150 cm. As they mature, grey nurse sharks can reach 5.5 meters, but an average size is 3.6 meters. Females are generally larger than males. Average weight is from 95 to 110 kg. A distinguishing characteristic of grey nurse sharks is that the anal fin and both dorsal fins are the same size. The tail is heterocercal, with a long, upper lobe and a shorter, lower lobe. These different lobes allow for great movement. The mouth bears razor like teeth and is long and slender, with pointed snout. Their elongated teeth are visible even when the mouth is closed, giving these sharks a menacing appearance. This has led many to believe that these are dangerous sharks, a reputation they don't deserve.
Range mass: 50 to 300 kg.
Average mass: 95-110 kg.
Range length: 6 (high) m.
Average length: 3.6 m.
Range basal metabolic rate: <190 to 311 cm3.O2/g/hr.
Average basal metabolic rate: 239 cm3.O2/g/hr.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
Little is known about the lifespan of ocean dwelling grey nurse sharks, however those held in captivity live to an average age of thirteen to sixteen years. It is believed that those in the wild live longer still.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 35 (high) years.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 16 (high) years.
Grey nurse sharks are found in temperate and tropical waters. They are typically found in shallow waters, such as shallow bays, surf zones, and near coral or rocky reefs. They have been sighted in waters as deep as 191 meters, but will most likely be seen in the surf zone to a depth of 60 meters. They are usually found near the bottom of the water column.
Range depth: 2 to 191 m.
Average depth: 60 meters m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; saltwater or marine
Aquatic Biomes: reef ; coastal
Other Habitat Features: estuarine
Grey nurse sharks, also called sand tiger sharks, can be found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans in temperate and tropical waters. They are found in warm seas, except for the eastern Pacific. They occur from the Gulf of Maine to Argentina in the western Atlantic, the coast of Europe to north Africa in the eastern Atlantic, in the Mediterranean sea, from Australia to Japan in the west Pacific, and off the coasts of South Africa.
Biogeographic Regions: indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native ); mediterranean sea (Native )
Grey nurse sharks have a range of prey, including bony fish, rays, lobsters, crabs, squid, and other small sharks. Grey nurse sharks sometimes hunt cooperatively, chasing fish into small groups and then attacking them. Grey nurse sharks, like other sharks, have been known to attack at random during feeding frenzies, where a large number of prey is found together. In feeding frenzies sharks rely heavily on their electroreceptors, attacking everything in close vicinity.
Animal Foods: fish; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans
Primary Diet: carnivore (Piscivore , Eats non-insect arthropods)
Grey nurse sharks help to regulate prey populations. Different species of lampreys (Petromyzontidae) prey on these sharks in a parasitic relationship, whereby the lamprey attaches to the shark, and extracts blood and other nutrients through a wound. These sharks also have mutualistic relationships with pilotfish (Naucrates ductor), which clean their gills and, in exchange, get to eat the scraps of food left behind in the gills.
Mutualist Species:
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Grey nurse sharks are known for their fierce appearance and have gained an undeserved reputation as a man-eater in Australia. These sharks are not generally aggressive, but have been known to bite. Their bites can inflict serious damage because of their size and their dangerous teeth. They are sometimes tangled in fishing nets.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings)
It takes a grey nurse shark pup between 6-9 months to develop in the uterus of a female. Young nurse sharks develop a jaw and teeth very early their development and some eat their siblings while still developing within their mother, a phenomenon known as intra-uterine cannibalism. It is uncertain how long it takes grey nurse sharks to reach maturity, but maturity is estimated at between 5 and 13 years. Sharks continue to grow throughout their lives.
Development - Life Cycle: indeterminate growth
Grey nurse sharks were the first shark species to be protected by law. Grey nurse sharks are cited as being critically endangered in the Commonwealth Legislation (Australia). They are also considered endangered in New South Wales. The Queensland Government is hoping to provide a listing in the Nature Conservation Act of 1992 which will give these sharks additional protection. The National Marine Fisheries service in the United States prohibits hunting of these sharks. The IUCN lists grey nurse sharks as a vulnerable species on the red list (last evaluated in 2000). CITES does not have a listing for them, and is the most recently updated (2005). The fact that these sharks live in shallow, accessible waters, have a fierce appearance, and have a low reproductive rate, has contributed to declines in populations. Population declines worldwide are estimated at 20% in the last 10 years.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: critically endangered
Communication among grey nurse sharks is not well understood. Sharks in general are sensitive to electrical and chemical cues.
Grey nurse sharks, and other species of sharks, have pores on their ventral surface. These pores are instrumental in detecting electrical fields, which help them to detect and locate prey and may help in navigating using the earth's magnetic field.
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical ; electric
Males outnumber females by a 2:1 ratio and multiple males will copulate with a single female. A dominance hierarchy has only been observed in captivity, with the oldest males copulating first.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Mating occurs in November and October. The gestation period will take anywhere from six to nine months. Females give birth in early spring near coastal, rocky reefs. Caves inhabited by these sharks are also used as breeding grounds and, if disrupted, their breeding may be interrupted. Female sharks bear young once every two years, with a maximum of two shark pups at birth, one from each uterus. Grey nurse sharks are ovoviviparous which means that eggs develop inside of the female in each uterus. Young hatch from the eggs and are retained in the uteri until they are fully developed. Females have hundreds of eggs inside the uterus. When an egg is fertilized the shark pup begins to grow and, at 55 mm, develops a jaw and teeth. This shark then eats the other developing embryos during its 6 to 9 month gestation (intra-uterine cannibalism).
Males mature at a length of 1.95 meters, or 4-5 years in age, and females mature at 2.2 meters, or 6 years in age.
Breeding interval: Grey nurse sharks bear young once every two years.
Breeding season: Shark pups are usually born in early spring (March and April).
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 6 to 9 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 5 to 13 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 7-8 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 5 to 13 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 7-8 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); ovoviviparous
A pup will be born approximately 115-150 cm in length. This shark is able to fend for itself and live without parental care. Intra-uterine cannibalism ensures plenty of energy to the developing pup, resulting in a well-fed and well-developed offspring.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
Records of the great white shark Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus) (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) in the Persian/Arabian Gulf (hereafter referred to as “The Gulf”) are limited to a single report from Kuwait, in the northwest Gulf, which has subsequently been noted in key references (e.g. Compagno, 2001). Khalaf (1987) recorded C. carcharias based on an observation of a mounted specimen in Kuwait Science and Natural History Museum on a visit there in March 1987. The specimen is reported as being a female C. carcharias of 3m in length, caught off Kuwait ’s coast and supplied to the museum on the 14th of April 1984. A black and white photograph of the anterior portion (from just posterior of the pelvic fins) was included in Khalaf’s account (Fig. 1 here), but no measurements or morphological data were presented.
The present authors examined the photograph and identified the specimen as Carcharias taurus Rafinesque (Lamniformes: Odontaspididae) based on the first dorsal fin origin being well behind the inner margins of the pectoral fins (cf. over the pectoral inner margins in C. carcharias ), the first dorsal fin insertion being about over the pelvic fin origin (cf. being well ahead of pelvic fin origin), a short flattened snout (cf. moderately long conical snout), moderately long gill openings not extending onto the dorsal surface (cf. long gill openings), and characteristic protruding teeth. The photograph presented did not allow for examination of the caudal region or for effective examination of colouration.
Carcharodon carcharias has been recorded from a wide range of habitats and with an extensive distribution ranging from the equatorial tropics to the sub-Arctic, and from the intertidal down to the continental slope (Compagno, 2001). Cliff et al. (2000), Compagno (2001), and Zuffa et al. (2002) report white sharks from the tropical Western Indian Ocean off Mozambique and Madagascar north to Tanzania and Kenya and including the Seychelles, Réunion and Mauritius. There is therefore no theoretical reason why this species should not occur in the Persian Gulf or the wider northwestern Indian Ocean, although the nearest confirmed record is from Sri Lanka and possibly the Red Sea (Compagno, 2001). In addition, there are unconfirmed, anecdotal records of white sharks from the Gulf of Aden coast of Yemen, Djibouti and northern Somalia (Conan Doyle, 1963).
Gubanov & Schleib (1980) reported C. taurus as sometimes being encountered in Kuwait waters, although Krupp et al., (2000) noted that there was no material provided to support this. Krupp et al., (2000) reported the first record of C. taurus from The Gulf supported by reference material based on a 2.98m specimen caught off Abu Halifa, Kuwait , in 1997. The C. taurus reported here predates this by thirteen years.
The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy shorelines (hence the name sand tiger shark) and submerged reefs to a depth of around 191 m (627 ft).[2] They dwell in the waters of Japan, Australia, South Africa, and the east coasts of North and South America. The sand tiger shark also inhabited the Mediterranean, however it was last seen there in 2003 and is presumed extinct in the region. Despite its common names, it is not closely related to either the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) or the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum).
Despite its fearsome appearance and strong swimming ability, it is a relatively placid and slow-moving shark with no confirmed human fatalities. This species has a sharp, pointy head, and a bulky body. The sand tiger's length can reach 3.2 m (10.5 ft) but is normally 2.2–2.5 m in length.[3] They are grey with reddish-brown spots on their backs. Shivers (groups) have been observed to hunt large schools of fish. Their diet consists of bony fish, crustaceans, squid, skates and other sharks. Unlike other sharks, the sand tiger can gulp air from the surface, allowing it to be suspended in the water column with minimal effort. During pregnancy, the most developed embryo will feed on its siblings, a reproductive strategy known as intrauterine cannibalism i.e. "embryophagy" or, more colorfully, adelphophagy—literally "eating one's brother". The sand tiger is categorized as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It is the most widely kept large shark in public aquariums owing to its tolerance for captivity.
The sand tiger shark's description as Carcharias taurus by Constantine Rafinesque came from a specimen caught off the coast of Sicily. Carcharias taurus means "bull shark". This taxonomic classification has been long disputed. Twenty-seven years after Rafinesque's original description the German biologists Müller and Henle changed the genus name from C. taurus to Triglochis taurus. The following year, Swiss-American naturalist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz reclassified the shark as Odontaspis cuspidata based on examples of fossilized teeth. Agassiz's name was used until 1961 when three palaeontologists and ichthyologists, W. Tucker, E. I. White, and N. B. Marshall, requested that the shark be returned to the genus Carcharias. This request was rejected and Odontaspis was approved by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). When experts concluded that taurus belongs after Odontaspis, the name was changed to Odontaspis taurus. In 1977, Compagno and Follet challenged the Odontaspis taurus name and substituted Eugomphodus, a somewhat unknown classification, for Odontaspis. Many taxonomists questioned his change, arguing that there was no significant difference between Odontaspis and Carcharias. After changing the name to Eugomphodus taurus, Compagno successfully advocated in establishing the shark's current scientific name as Carcharias taurus. The ICZN approved this name, and today it is used among biologists.[2]
Because the sand tiger shark is worldwide in distribution, it has many common names. The term "sand tiger shark" actually refers to four different sand tiger shark species in the family Odontaspididae. Furthermore, the name creates confusion with the unrelated tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier. The grey nurse shark, the name used in Australia, is the second-most used name for the shark, and in India it is known as blue-nurse sand tiger. However, there are unrelated nurse sharks in the family Ginglymostomatidae. The most unambiguous and descriptive English name is probably the South African one, spotted ragged-tooth shark.[2][4]
There are four species referred to as sand tiger sharks:[2]
The most likely problem when identifying the sand tiger shark is when in the presence of either of the two species of Odontaspis. Firstly, the sand tiger is usually spotted, especially on the hind half of the body. However, there are several other differences that are probably more reliable:
Adult sand tigers range from 2 m (6.6 ft) to 3.2 m (10.5 ft) in length with most specimens reaching a length of around 2.2–2.5 m and 91 kg (201 lb) to 159 kg (351 lb) in weight.[5] The head is pointy, as opposed to round, while the snout is flattened with a conical shape. Its body is stout and bulky and its mouth extends beyond the eyes. The eyes of the sand tiger shark are small, lacking eyelids.[2] A sand tiger usually swims with its mouth open displaying three rows of protruding, smooth-edged, sharp-pointed teeth.[6] The males have grey claspers with white tips located on the underside of their body. The caudal fin is elongated with a long upper lobe (i.e. strongly heterocercal). They have two large, broad-based grey dorsal fins set back beyond the pectoral fins.[2] The sand tiger shark has a grey-brown back and pale underside. Adults tend to have reddish-brown spots scattered, mostly on the hind part of the body.[6] In August 2007, an albino specimen was photographed off South West Rocks, Australia.[7] The teeth of these sharks have no transverse serrations (as have many other sharks) but they have a large, smooth main cusp with a tiny cusplet on each side of the main cusp.[2] The upper front teeth are separated from the teeth on the side of the mouth by small intermediate teeth.
Sand tiger sharks roam the epipelagic and mesopelagic regions of the ocean,[8] sandy coastal waters, estuaries, shallow bays, and rocky or tropical reefs, at depths of up to 190 m (623 ft).
The sand tiger shark can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and in the Adriatic Seas. In the Western Atlantic Ocean, it is found in coastal waters around from the Gulf of Maine to Florida, in the northern Gulf of Mexico, around the Bahamas and Bermuda, and from southern Brazil to northern Argentina. It is also found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea to the Canary Islands, at the Cape Verde islands, along the coasts of Senegal and Ghana, and from southern Nigeria to Cameroon. In the western Indian Ocean, the shark ranges from South Africa to southern Mozambique, but excluding Madagascar. The sand tiger shark has also been sighted in the Red Sea and may be found as far east as India. In the western Pacific, it has been sighted in the waters around the coasts of Japan and Australia, but not around New Zealand.[1]
Sand tigers in South Africa and Australia undertake an annual migration that may cover more than 1,000 km (620 mi).[8] They pup during the summer in relatively cold water (temperature ca. 16 °C [61 °F]). After parturition, they swim northwards toward sites where there are suitable rocks or caves, often at a water depth ca. 20 m (66 ft), where they mate during and just after the winter.[9] Mating normally takes place at night. After mating, they swim further north to even warmer water where gestation takes place. In the Autumn they return southwards to give birth in cooler water. This round trip may encompass as much as 3,000 km (1,900 mi). The young sharks do not take part in this migration, but they are absent from the normal birth grounds during winter: it is thought that they move deeper into the ocean.[8] At Cape Cod (USA), juveniles move away from coastal areas when water temperatures decreases below 16 °C and day length decreases to less than 12 h.[10] Juveniles, however, return to their usual summer haunts and as they become mature they start larger migratory movements.
The sand tiger shark is a nocturnal feeder. During the day, they take shelter near rocks, overhangs, caves and reefs often at relatively shallow depths (<20 m). This is the typical environment where divers encounter sand tigers, hovering just above the bottom in large sandy gutters and caves.[11] However, at night they leave the shelter and hunt over the ocean bottom, often ranging far from their shelter.[12] Sand tigers hunt by stealth. It is the only shark known to gulp air and store it in the stomach, allowing the shark to maintain near-neutral buoyancy which helps it to hunt motionlessly and quietly.[2] Aquarium observations indicate that when it comes close enough to a prey item, it grabs with a quick sideways snap of the prey. The sand tiger shark has been observed to gather in hunting groups when preying upon large schools of fish.[2]
The majority of prey items of sand tigers are demersal (i.e. from the sea bottom), suggesting that they hunt extensively on the sea bottom as far out as the continental shelf. Bony fish (teleosts) form about 60% of sand tigers' food, the remaining prey comprising sharks, skates, other rays, lobsters, crabs and squid.[13] In Argentina, the prey includes mostly demersal fishes, e.g. the striped weakfish (Cynoscion guatucupa) and whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri). The most important elasmobranch prey is the bottom-living narrownose smooth-hound shark (Mustelus schmitti.). Benthic (i.e. free-swimming) rays and skates are also taken, including fanskates, eagle rays and the angular angel shark, with larger individuals feeding on a higher number of benthic elasmobranchs than smaller individuals.[14] Stomach content analysis indicates that smaller sand tigers mainly focus on the sea bottom and as they grow larger they start to take more benthic prey. This perspective of the diet of sand tigers is consistent with similar observations in the north west Atlantic[15] and in South Africa where large sand tigers capture a wider range of shark and skate species as prey, from the surf zone to the continental shelf, indicating the opportunistic nature of sand tiger feeding.[12] Off South Africa, sand tigers less than 2 m (6.6 ft) in length prey on fish about a quarter of their own length; however, large sand tigers capture prey up to about half of their own length.[12] The prey items are usually swallowed as three or four chunks.[14]
Mating occurs around the months of August and December in the northern hemisphere and during August–October in the southern hemisphere. The courtship and mating of sand tigers has been best documented from observations in large aquaria. In Oceanworld, Sydney, the females tended to hover just above the sandy bottom ("shielding") when they were receptive.[16] This prevented males from approaching from underneath towards their cloaca. Often there is more than one male close by with the dominant one remaining close to the female, intimidating others with an aggressive display in which the dominant shark closely follows the tail of the subordinate, forcing the subordinate to accelerate and swim away. The dominant male snaps at smaller fish of other species. The male approaches the female and the two sharks protect the sandy bottom over which they interact. Strong interest of the male is indicated by superficial bites in the anal and pectoral fin areas of the female. The female responds with superficial biting of the male. This behaviour continues for several days during which the male patrols the area around the female. The male regularly approaches the female in "nosing" behaviour to "smell" the cloaca of the female. If she is ready, she swims off with the male, while both partners contort their bodies so that the right clasper of the male enters the cloaca of the female. The male bites the base of her right pectoral fin, leaving scars that are easily visible afterwards. After one or two minutes, mating is complete and the two separate. Females often mate with more than one male.[17] Females mate only every second or third year.[18] After mating, the females remain behind, while the males move off to seek other areas to feed,[18] resulting in many observations of sand tiger populations comprising almost exclusively females.
The reproductive pattern is similar to that of many of the Lamnidae, the shark family to which sand tigers belong. Female sand tigers have two uterine horns that, during early embryonic development, may have as many as 50 embryos that obtain nutrients from their yolk sacs and possibly consume uterine fluids. When one of the embryos reaches some 10 cm (4 in) in length, it eats all the smaller embryos so that only one large embryo remains in each uterine horn, a process called intrauterine cannibalism i.e. "embryophagy" or, more colorfully, adelphophagy—literally "eating one's brother."[2][17] While multiple male sand tigers commonly fertilize a single female, adelphophagy sometimes excludes all but one of them from gaining offspring. These surviving embryos continue to feed on a steady supply of unfertilised eggs.[19] After a lengthy labour, the female gives birth to 1 m (3.3 ft) long, fully independent offspring. The gestation period is approximately eight to twelve months. These sharks give birth only every second or third year,[18] resulting in an overall mean reproductive rate of less than one pup per year, one of the lowest reproductive rates for sharks.
In the north Atlantic, sand tiger sharks are born about 1 m in length. During the first year, they grow about 27 cm to reach 1.3 m. After that, the growth rate decreases by about 2.5 cm each year until it stabilises at about 7 cm/y.[20] Males reach sexual maturity at an age of five to seven years and approximately 1.9 m (6.2 ft) in length. Females reach maturity when approximately 2.2 m (7.2 ft) long at about seven to ten years of age.[20] They are normally not expected to reach lengths over 3 m and lengths around 2.2–2.5 is more common. In the informal media, such as YouTube, there have been several reports of sand tigers around 5 m long, but none of these have been verified scientifically.
The sand tiger is often wrongly associated with being vicious or deadly, due to its relatively large size and sharp, protruding teeth that point outward from its jaws; however, these sharks are quite docile, and are not a threat to humans. Their mouths are not large enough to cause a human fatality. Sand tigers roam the surf, sometimes in close proximity to humans, and there have been only a few instances of unprovoked sand tiger shark attacks on humans, usually associated with spear fishing, line fishing, or shark feeding.[5] As of 2013, the database of Shark Attack Survivors does not list any fatalities due to sand tiger sharks.[21] When the sharks become aggressive, they tend to steal fish or bait from fishing lines rather than attack humans. Owing to its large size and docile temperament, the sand tiger is commonly displayed in aquariums around the world.[5]
In Australia and South Africa, one of the common practices in beach holiday areas is to erect shark nets around the beaches frequently used by swimmers. These nets are erected some 400 m (1,300 ft) from the shore and act as gill nets that trap incoming sharks:[22] this was the norm until about 2005. In South Africa, the mortality of sand tiger sharks caused a significant decrease in the length of these animals and it was concluded that the shark nets pose a significant threat to this species with its very low reproductive rate[23] Before 2000, these nets snagged about 200 sand tiger sharks per year in South Africa, of which only about 40% survived and were released alive.[24] The efficiency of shark nets for the prevention of unprovoked shark attacks on bathers has been questioned, and since 2000 there has been a reduced use of these nets and alternative approaches are being developed.
In Argentina, the prey items of sand tigers largely coincided with important commercial fisheries targets.[14] Humans affect sand tiger food availability and the sharks, in turn, compete with humans for food that, in turn, has already been heavily exploited by the fisheries industry. The same applies to the bottom-living sea catfish (Galeichthys feliceps), a fisheries resource off the South African coast.[12]
Sand tiger sharks are often the targets of scuba divers who wish to observe or photograph these animals. A study near Sydney in Australia found that the behaviour of the sharks is affected by the proximity of scuba divers.[25] Diver activity affects the aggregation, swimming and respiratory behaviour of sharks, but only at short time scales. The group size of scuba divers was less important in affecting sand tiger behaviour than the distance within which they approached the sharks. Divers approaching to within 3 m of sharks affected their behaviour but after the divers had retreated, the sharks resumed normal behaviour. Other studies indicate sand tiger sharks can be indifferent to divers.[26] Scuba divers are normally compliant with Australian shark-diving regulations.[27]
Its large and menacing appearance, combined with its relative placidity, has made the sand tiger shark among the most popular shark species to be displayed in public aquaria.[28] However, as with all large sharks, keeping them in captivity is not without its difficulties. Sand tiger sharks have been found to be highly susceptible to developing spinal deformities, with as many as one in every three captive sharks being affected, giving them a hunched appearance.[29] These deformities have been hypothesized to be correlated to both the size and shape of their tank.[30] If the tank is too small, the sharks have to spend more time actively swimming than they would in the wild, where they have space to glide. Also, sharks in small, circular tanks often spend most of their time circling along the edges in only one direction, causing asymmetrical stress on their bodies.
There are several factors contributing to the decline in the population of the sand tigers. Sand tigers reproduce at an unusually low rate, due to the fact that they do not have more than two pups at a time and because they breed only every second or third year. This shark is a highly prized food item in the western northern Pacific, off Ghana and off India and Pakistan where they are caught by fishing trawlers, although they are more commonly caught with a fishing line.[2] Sand tigers' fins are a popular trade item in Japan.[1] Off North America, it is fished for its hide and fins. Shark liver oil is a popular product in cosmetic products such as lipstick.[6] It is sought by anglers in fishing competitions in South Africa and some other countries. In Australia it has been reduced in numbers by spear fishers using poison and where it is now protected.[2] It is also prized as an aquarium exhibit in the United States, Europe, Australia and South Africa because of its docile and hardy nature.[2] Thus, overfishing is a major contributor to the population decline. All indications show that the world population in sand tigers has been reduced significantly in size since 1980.[2] Many sand tigers are caught in shark nets, and then either strangled or taken by fishermen.[1] Estuaries along the United States of America's eastern Atlantic coast houses many of the young sand tiger sharks. These estuaries are susceptible to non-point source pollution that is harmful to the pups.[6] In Eastern Australia, the breeding population was estimated to be fewer than 400 reproductively mature animals, a number believed to be too small to sustain a healthy population.[31]
This species is therefore listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List,[1] and as endangered under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992. It is a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service [Species of Concern], which are those species that the U.S. Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, any shark caught must be released immediately with minimal harm, and is considered a prohibited species, making it illegal to harvest any part of the sand tiger shark on the United States' Atlantic coast.[6]
A recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts suggests that a new management approach used for large mammals that have suffered population declines could hold promise for sharks. Because of the life-history characteristics of sharks, conventional fisheries management approaches, such as reaching maximum sustainable yield, may not be sufficient to rebuild depleted shark populations. Some of the more stringent approaches used to reverse declines in large mammals may be appropriate for sharks, including prohibitions on the retention of the most vulnerable species and regulation of international trade.[32]
The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy shorelines (hence the name sand tiger shark) and submerged reefs to a depth of around 191 m (627 ft). They dwell in the waters of Japan, Australia, South Africa, and the east coasts of North and South America. The sand tiger shark also inhabited the Mediterranean, however it was last seen there in 2003 and is presumed extinct in the region. Despite its common names, it is not closely related to either the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) or the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum).
Despite its fearsome appearance and strong swimming ability, it is a relatively placid and slow-moving shark with no confirmed human fatalities. This species has a sharp, pointy head, and a bulky body. The sand tiger's length can reach 3.2 m (10.5 ft) but is normally 2.2–2.5 m in length. They are grey with reddish-brown spots on their backs. Shivers (groups) have been observed to hunt large schools of fish. Their diet consists of bony fish, crustaceans, squid, skates and other sharks. Unlike other sharks, the sand tiger can gulp air from the surface, allowing it to be suspended in the water column with minimal effort. During pregnancy, the most developed embryo will feed on its siblings, a reproductive strategy known as intrauterine cannibalism i.e. "embryophagy" or, more colorfully, adelphophagy—literally "eating one's brother". The sand tiger is categorized as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It is the most widely kept large shark in public aquariums owing to its tolerance for captivity.