Whitetip Reef Shark
(Triaenadon obesus)
Tropical Pacific
Physical Characteristics:
Whitetip reef sharks are slender with brilliant white tips on their dorsal and caudal fins. They have grayish/brown bodies and can grow to be 170cm (5.5-6 ft).
Diet:
These sharks feed primarily on bony reef fishes such as parrot, trigger, squirrel and surgeon fishes and even eels.
Habitat:
Whitetips live in shallow tropical waters near coral reefs. They often stay close to the bottom in caves and crevices, where they rest in large groups..
Conservation:
In certain areas, whitetips have been recorded as “ciguatoxic”, having natural toxins in theis tissues. This means that eating the meat of this shark is more dangerous than getting bitten by it.
Copyright © 2002 Christina de Paula. All rights reserved.
All graphics and pictures contained within these pages are Copyrighted.
Sand Tiger Shark
(Carcharias taurus)
Tropical Pacific
Physical Characteristics:
Sand tiger sharks are usually bronze-colored on the top of their body and light beige on the bottom. Their snouts are short and upturned. Sand tigers can reach up to 318cm (10.4 ft) in length.
Habitat:
These sharks inhabit the tropical and temperate areas of the western Pacific and the Indian, North and South Atlantic Oceans. Generally bottom dwellers, sand tigers are found from shallow waters to 190 meters
(623 ft) in depth.
Diet:
With their sharp dagger-like teeth, sand tigers feed primarily on fish and squid.
Conservation:
Sand tigers are the first sharks in the world to become protected because their population have critically declined due to over-fishing.