TIGER SHARK
Galeocerdo cuvier
SIZE
To about 18 ft (5.5 m).
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- Dorsal surfaces of juveniles covered with dark blotches on bluish- or greenish-gray
to black background; blotches fuse to form tigerlike vertical bars or stripes
as shark grows; coloration fades to gray and stripes become less distinct
in adults
- Snout blunt and wide, much shorter than width of mouth; long labial furrows
around corners of mouth reaching eyes
- Teeth serrated with deep notch on outer margins, similar in both jaws
- Interdorsal ridge low
DISTRIBUTION
Cape Cod, MA, to Uruguay, including Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
HABITAT
Coastal waters close inshore to outer continental shelf; offshore including
oceanic island groups.
SIMILAR SPECIES
Characteristic teeth and markings of tiger shark distinguish this species
from other Atlantic sharks.
MORE INFORMATION
 |
Text descriptions taken from Guide to Sharks, Tunas, & Billfishes of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
|
Tiger shark length-weight relationship
Canadian Shark Research Laboratory
Ichthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural History
This page was last updated: November 9, 2006
