Bull Shark

Theme area:  Shark Tunnel
Scientific name:  Carcharias taurus
Class:  Chordates
Order:   Vertebrates
Suborder:   Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)
Family:   Odontaspididae
Subfamily:   Carcharias
Continent:  Central America and the Caribbean
Habitat:  Oceans and seas
Diet:  Piscivore
Weight:  90 - 160 kg
Size:  2 - 3.2 m
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The Bull Shark has a tapered body. It is brown in colour with occasional darker spots. Its snout is pointed. Its two dorsal fins are wide and almost equal in size and are located on its back.

BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY

During its gestation period, several embryos develop. The most mature consumes all the others in its litter as well as the unfertilised eggs that the mother continues to produce. As its uterus is divided in two, the female gives birth to a maximum of two offspring that will already be 1 metre long! This phenomenon results in bigger, stronger babies... but fewer of them.

 

THREATS

Bull Sharks fall victim to industrial and sport fishing.
Their flesh is not eaten but their fins can be traded.

  

PRESENTATIONS AND ENCOUNTERS

Conservation
Extinct
Extinct in the wild
Critically endangered
Endangered
Vulnerable
Near threatened
Least concern
Insufficient data
Not evaluated
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