tiger shark

The tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, one of the largest sharks, is the only member of the genus Galeocerdo.

The tiger shark is a dangerous predator, known for eating a wide variety of items.

The tiger shark is second only to the great white in number of recorded human fatalities and is considered, along with the great white, bull shark and the oceanic whitetip shark to be one of the sharks most dangerous to humans.

Taxonomy

The shark was first described by Peron and Lessueur in 1822 and was given the name Squalus cuvier. It is often colloquially called the leopard shark and the man-eater shark.

The tiger shark is a member of the order Carcharhiniformes; This family includes some other well known sharks such as the blue shark, lemon shark and bull shark.

Distribution

The tiger shark is often found close to the coast, in mainly tropical and sub-tropical waters, though they can reside in temperate waters.

The shark has been recorded down to a depth of 350 m (1085 ft) but is also known to move into shallow water - water that would normally be considered too shallow for a species of its size. The distinguishing dark spots and stripes are most outstanding in young sharks and fade as the shark matures. It has been estimated that the tiger shark can swim at a maximum speed of around 32 km/h (20 mph), with short bursts of higher speeds that last only a few seconds.

The tiger shark's head is somewhat wedge-shaped, which makes it easy for the shark to turn quickly to one side. Tiger sharks, as with other sharks, have small pits on the side of their upper bodies which hold electrical sensors enabling them to detect small muscle movements of other creatures, allowing them to hunt in darkness. A tiger shark generally has long fins and a long upper tail; A tiger shark normally swims using lithe movements of its body. Like most sharks, when a tiger shark loses or breaks one of its teeth, it grows a replacement tooth. The distinctive teeth seem to have evolved to be able to cut through turtle shells, and an adult tiger shark can easily bite through bone.

Diet

The tiger shark, which generally hunts at night, has a reputation for eating anything it has access to, ignoring what nutritional value the prey may or may not hold. The tiger shark's ability to pick up on low-frequency pressure waves produced by the movements of swimming animals, for example the thrashing of an injured animal, enables the shark to find a variety of prey. Because of its aggressive nature of feeding, it is common to find a variety of foreign objects inside the digestive tract of a tiger shark.

Reproduction

The tiger shark breeds by internal fertilization. The male tiger shark will insert one of its claspers into the female's genital opening, acting as a guide for the sperm to be introduced. A newborn tiger shark is generally 51 to 76 cm long and leaves its mother upon birth. It is unknown how long tiger sharks live, but it has been speculated to be 20 years.

Dangers and conservation

Although shark attacks on humans are a relatively rare phenomenon, the tiger shark is responsible for a large percentage of the fatal attacks that do occur on humans, and is regarded as one of the most dangerous species of sharks. Tiger sharks reside in temperate and tropical waters. Because of their curious nature of feeding it is expected that a tiger shark would normally attack a human if it came in contact with it. Tiger sharks are known to dwell in waters with runoff, such as where a river enters the ocean.

Tiger sharks have become a recurring problem in Hawaii and are considered the most dangerous shark species in Hawaiian waters. They are considered to be sacred 'aumakua' or ancestor spirits by the native Hawaiians, however between 1959 and 1976, 4,668 tiger sharks were hunted down in an effort to control what was proving to be detrimental to the tourism industry.

The tiger shark is not directly under attack by commercial industries. A tiger shark's liver, as with most sharks, is considered to be of high value as it contains a high vitamin A content, which is extracted to produce vitamin A oil. A tiger shark's skin is sturdy and considered exotic for its striped tiger-like appearance.