| Sandbar shark | ||||||||||||||
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Carcharhinus plumbeus |
The Sandbar shark is also called the thickskin shark. It is one of the biggest coastal sharks in the world, and closely related the dusky shark, the big nose shark, and the bull shark. Its dorsal fin is triangular and very high, and weighs as much as 18% of the shark's whole body. Sandbar sharks usually have heavy-set bodies and rounded snouts that are shorter than the average shark's snout. Their upper teeth have broadly uneven cusps with sharp edges. It's second dorsal fin and anal fin are close to the same height. Females can grow to be 7 to 8 feet; males up to 6 feet in length. Its body color can vary from a bluish to a brownish gray to a bronze, with a white or pale underside. Sandbar sharks swim alone or gather in sex-segregated schools that vary in size. They are most active at night, at dawn, and at dusk.
The Sandbar shark, true to its nickname, is commonly found over muddy or sandy bottoms in shallow coastal waters such as bays, estuaries, harbors, or the mouths of rivers, but it also swims in deeper waters (200 meters or more) as well as the intertidal zones. Sandbar sharks are found in tropical to temperate waters worldwide; in the western Atlantic they range from Massachusetts to Brazil. Juveniles are common to abundant in the lower Chesapeake Bay, which is probably one of the most important nursery grounds on the U.S. East Coast for this species.
The Sandbar shark's main predator is the human. However they are eaten by tiger sharks and rarely by great white sharks. The Sandbar sharks, and other requiem sharks, prey on finfish rays, bottom dwelling animals, seabirds and turtle.
Sandbar sharks are viviparous. The embryos are supported in placental yolk sac inside the mother. The female reproduces every two years. They give birth to 8 to 10 young. They carry the young for 1 year before birth.