The Sand Tiger Shark (Carcharias taurus) is a marine (saltwater) fish in the Odontaspididae family of sharks. It is an elasmobranch cartilaginous fish — a fish that does not have a bony skeleton. It is also known as the Grey Nurse Shark, Spotted Ragged-Tooth Shark, and Blue-Nurse Sand Tiger.
The Sand Tiger Shark has a sharp, pointy head, and a large, bulky body. It is grey with reddish-brown spots on its back. Its eyes are small and lack eyelids. It swims with its mouth always open so that it can breathe oxygen from the water. Its teeth are always showing. Its teeth are smooth, ragged, and sharp-pointed.
It can grow to 320 centimetres (10.5 feet) in length.
The Sand Tiger Shark is found in water of Japan, Australia, South Africa, the Mediterranean, and around North America and South America. It likes sub-tropical and temperate waters worldwide, along the continental shelf, and near the shoreline in reefs and lagoons. It is placid and slow-moving.
It is usually solitary, but it can be seen in groups, called shivers, especially when hunting large schools of fish.
It is carnivorous. It eats fish, crabs, lobsters, squids, rays, and other sharks. It is a nocturnal feeder, feeding at night.
The female is pregnant for 8-12 months, with eggs inside her body. The young hatch and the largest eats the smallest hatchling and the rest of the eggs, before being born. Therefore, the female gives birth to one live young, called a pup.
Its lifespan is 13-35 years.
Location of photographs: New York Aquarium, America
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM