Carcharias taurus

Grey nurse shark | Sand Tiger Shark | Spotted Raggedtoothed Shark
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus, NSW, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus, Batemans Bay, New South Wales, Australia, Photo: Andrew Green
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus, Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia, Photo: Tom Davis
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus, Narooma, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus, Jervis Bay, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus, male, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
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Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus
Carcharias taurus

Distribution

Mediterranean, Temperate Africa, Temperate Australasia, Temperate South America, Temperate northern Atlantic, Temperate northern Pacific, Tropical Atlantic/Caribbean, Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Two large dorsal fins of nearly similar size, protruding set of needle-like teeth, and small black blotches that are most prominent in juveniles. Lives in reef gutters, often in aggregations of tens of individuals.


Information

Max Size: 320 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 15.3-28.2°C

Depth: 1-191m

Habitat Generalization Index: 3.25

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Occurrence: Infrequent (2.7% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Few (3 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney