I’m bringing you some of the most wonderful sand tiger shark facts including sand tiger shark diet, habitat, reproduction, and behavior. The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus) is a shark species that lives along the coastal waters in the water. These species are called for several different names such as spotted ragged tooth shark, grey nurse shark, and blue-nurse sand tiger. Most of these fishes are found in the sandy beaches of North America, with some also lives in the oceans of South Africa, Australia, and Japan. Although sand tiger sharks are relatively fast swimmers they are typically known as the slow movers in waters. They can grow to a size of about 3.0 – 3.4 meters with reddish-brown blotches on its body. The grey nurse sharks are known to take on large schools of fish near shorelines. Some of the most common sand tiger shark diet is squid, crustaceans, skates and bony fish. These sharks are adept to take air from the water surface. These species are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The sand tiger sharks are also kept in aquarium worldwide.
Unbelievable Sand Tiger Shark Facts
- The sand tiger shark is bulky in size, small eyes with no eyelids.
- These shark species swim with its mouth open thereby demonstrating sharp-pointed teeth and smooth-edged.
- The fully grown sharks display prominent reddish-brown patches on its body. The juveniles exhibit yellowish-brown markings on their bodies.
- They have two large extended dorsal fins.
- The male sharks can be easily recognized by their grey claspers together with white tips positioned on the underside of their body.
- The sand tiger shark has long and elongated upper lobe.
- The shark’s tail is almost one-third the size of its body.
- The average length of these sharks measure around 3.0 – 3.4 meters (9.8 – 11.2 feet).
- The weight of these species measure around 159 kg (350 pounds).
- These sharks are rather more active during night.
- Of all the shark species, the sand tiger shark is the only fish that gulp down air from the water and stocks up in its stomach.
- They are known to accumulate in large groups when it comes to hunting larger prey.
- The sand tiger sharks are known for their deadly nature because of their mammoth size. Nonetheless, these fishes are passive and are not typically regarded as real threats to humans. Over the years, there have been 29 shark attacks out of which only 2 proved to be deadly.
What Do Sand Tiger Sharks Eat | Grey Nurse Shark Facts
These sharks primarily feed on crustaceans, squid, rays, bluefin tuna, small fish, and young sharks. They are widely known to prey on large amount of preys near the shorelines of North America such as weakfish, bonito, silver hake, alewives, butterfish, menhaden, flounder, and mackerel. These fishes supplement their diet with mullets, sea basses, eels, and other bony fish.
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Where Do Sand Tiger Sharks Live | Sand Tiger Shark Facts
Grey nurse sharks inhabit all throughout the mesopelagic oceanic regions, shallow bays, tropical reefs, estuaries, sandy coastal waters, and rocky reefs. These sharks are found at a depth of 19 meters (62 feet). Some of these species are also found in the shallow waters of Minas Basin, New Brunswick, Point Lepreau, and St. Andrews. Sand tiger sharks inhabit all along the Indian Oceans, Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean seas. A good many number of these individuals are also found in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Bermuda), northern Argentine, southern Brazil, Gulf Mane to Florida, eastern Atlantic Ocean, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, southern Nigeria, western Indian Ocean, and southern Mozambique. They are also sighted at the coastal waters of Australia and Japan. They are not the migratory sharks.
Reproduction | Sand Tiger Shark Facts
- The male sand tiger sharks reach the maturity age after 6 – 7 years when they are 1.8 meters (6 feet) long.
- The females become mature when they reach 2 meters (7 feet) at the age of 9 – 10 years.
- In the northern hemisphere, the mating season begins in March and April.
- The gestation period lasts for 8 – 9 months.
- The length of the juvenile measures around 1 meter (3 feet).
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