GENERAL
DESCRIPTION The tiger shark has tiger-like markings on a dark back with an off-white underbelly. Pups have spotted
markings that grow together to form stripes that fade with maturity. It has a large, thick-body with a blunt snout. The first
dorsal fin is much longer than the second. The caudal fin is long and pointed. There is a dermal ridge along the back between
the 2 dorsal fins. Color-Adult: gray-brown on top, off-white belly, young shark: dark stripes on the back.
Tiger sharks
have a special gill slit (a spiracle) behind the eyes that provides oxygen flow directly to the eyes and brain. It also has
a very good sense of smell, electroreceptors sensitive to electric currents in the water, and keen eyesight.
TEETH Tiger shark teeth are very serrated (saw-edged), razor-sharp, and curved. The teeth are the same in upper and lower jaws
The teeth are located in rows which rotate into use as needed. The first two rows are used in obtaining prey, the
other rows rotate into place as they are needed. As teeth are lost, broken, or worn down, they are replaced by new teeth that
rotate into place.
SIZE Tiger sharks grow up to 20 feet (6 m). On average
they are about 10 feet (3 m) long.
DIET AND FEEDING HABITS Tiger sharks will
eat fish, turtles, crabs, clams, mammals, sea birds, reptiles, other sharks, and just about anything else that they can catch
alive.
TIGER SHARK ATTACKS The tiger shark does occasionally attack people and
is greatly feared, but people are not sought out by sharks.
SOCIAL GROUPS Tiger
sharks are solitary animals except during mating.
HABITAT Tiger sharks go from
the surface to 1,200 feet (340 m). They swim in tropical waters worldwide and in some temperate seas. They inhabit both the
shoreline and open waters, ranging perhaps up to 500 miles.
DISTRIBUTION Tiger
sharks are found worldwide in warm seas (tropical and subtropical).
SPEED Tiger
sharks swim at an average speed of 2.4 mph (3.85 kph). They can swim in fast bursts, but can only sustain these high speeds
for a few seconds..
REPRODUCTION Tiger sharks reproduce via aplacental viviparity; the young of tiger sharks are born live in litters of between 10 and 82 pups. Gestation takes about 9 months. At birth they
are 20-30 inches (51-76 cm) long and are completely independent.
LIFE SPAN The
life span of the tiger shark is unknown.
TIGER SHARK CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom Animalia (animals) Phylum Chordata SubPhylum
Vertebrata (vertebrates) Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Subclass
Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) Order Carcharhiniformes Family Carcharhinidae Genus Galeocerdo Species
cuvier or cuvieri
This shark is one of the few that is actually means to eat humans. It is second in the line of fearsome shark attacks,
right next to the great white. It's large mouth and fearsome teeth allow it to swallow almost anything, this 'anything' includes...
Saw sharks, hammer heads, turtles, sea lions, jellyfish, lobsters and garbage. One giant weighed over 3 tonnes. Litters are
between 10 and 82, at birth each one measures51 to 71 cm. They are hunted for sport.
Tiger shark teeth are very serrated (saw-edged), razor-sharp, and curved. The teeth are the same in upper and lower jaws
