Tiger Shark

Tiger Shark

Galeocerdo cuvier

Size:
to 24 ft

Habitat:
open ocean, also enters rivers and bays at night

Notes:
extremely dangerous

tiger shark teeth

The serrated teeth are designed for sawing chunks from large prey items

If you are going to worry about a shark, let it be this one. Tiger Sharks are big, bold and inquisitive, and frequently come close inshore. They are also remarkably undiscriminating in their eating habits, which makes them even more likely to attack a swimmer, or anything for that matter.

Tiger sharks have the ability to evert ( turn inside-out ) their stomachs, much like starfish. This allows them to 'test' all sorts of food items that would otherwise choke them, like license plates and surfboards.

Tiger Shark
The tiger-stripe markings are readily apparent in this shot.
Tiger Shark
Note that this shark and the one above are both swimming over coral reefs, nowhere near New Jersey!
Tiger Shark
A Tiger shark approaches some floating chum. Note the squared-off muzzle. The green water looks like somewhere in Florida.
Tiger Shark
A Tiger shark swims in the surf off Australia. Habits like this are what make this shark so dangerous. Fortunately for us, Australia is very far from New Jersey.
Tiger shark displaying its bad habits

Smooth Dogfish
Most of these sharks are in more danger
from us than we are from them.
Real sharks are ashamed of them.

"Dogfish" is a generic name for a large number of small, generally harmless, and unaggressive sharks, not all of which are very closely related. Smooth Dogfishes are related to Tiger, Bull, and other Requiem Sharks, while Spiny Dogfishes are in a completely different group, more closely related to Angel Sharks. Compare these with the unrelated Chain Dogfish, a "Cat" shark. Sandbar sharks have nothing in common with the others here, except their small size. None of these little sharks is really dangerous, although any of them could give a good bite if provoked. Generally, they will avoid you.

Printed from njscuba.net