Tiger+shark

= = =**Tiger Shark**(//Galeocerdo cuvier)//= Contributed by HRS-JBrown [|Tiger Shark Picture]

Tiger Shark Description
The tiger shark is characterized among the Atlantic members of its family by the forward position of its first dorsal fin (origin about over the arm pit of the pectorals), combined with a caudal peduncle with a low longitudinal ridge of skin on either side, besides a well-marked semilunar pit below as well as above; a very small second dorsal fin; a furrow, about as long as the snout along either side of the upper jaw; a very slender-tipped caudal fin with moderately large and pointed lower lobe; and large teeth alike in the two jaws, of very characteristic shape, with convex inner margins, deeply and conspicuously notched outer margins and strongly serrate edges. [|Tiger Shark Description]

Tiger Shark Size
Tiger sharks are small at birth, corresponding to the large numbers in a litter, free living specimens having been reported only 18 to 19 inches long. By the time they mature they are among the larger sharks; but their size has often been overestimated. The majority of tigers caught in centers of abundance are less than 12 to 13 feet long, and the largest measured lately in the western Atlantic was one of about 18 feet, from Cuba. Repeated statements that the tiger grows to a maximum length of 30 feet have no reliable foundation, so far as we can discover. [|Tiger Shark Size]

Tiger Shark Diet
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 Diet]

Tiger Shark Population
Unknown

Tiger Shark Lifespan
Not known, but probably 30-40 years [|Tiger Shark Lifespan]

Tiger Shark Habitat
Adult tiger sharks spend their days beyond the reef edge to depths of about 500' (150m), except at certain times of the year, when they also come inshore during the day. [|Tiger Shark Habitat] = =

Tiger Shark Range
The tiger shark ranges world-wide in tropical waters, but has been spotted in the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of Le Preau tangled in fishing weir. [|Tiger Shark Range]

Tiger Shark Offspring
Mating behavior in sharks is complex, and very few people have observed it in detail. Biologists know that female sharks mate for only a few weeks during the mating season, which occurs once a year in some species but only once every two or three years in other species. Unlike other fishes, which may produce thousands of offspring each time they reproduce, sharks generally do not reproduce in large numbers. Some species may produce only one baby, or pup, at a time, while others may produce 20 or more. Interesting Facts: [|Tiger Shark Offspring]
 * They eat anything even sharks
 * Tiger sharks are ovoviviparous, which means that they produce eggs that hatch within the females body
 * Wedge shaped head gives minimum side resistance, allowing the shark to turn quickly.
 * The sense of smell is so important to a shark that nearly two thirds of its brain is devoted to processing scent information.