Tiger shark

Tiger Shark

The tiger shark ( Galeocerdo cuvier ) is within the Sharks ( Selachii ) to the family of requiem sharks ( Carcharhinidae ). The genus Galeocerdo is monotypic with Galeocerdo cuvier the only kind

Appearance

The body of the tiger shark is elongated and its snout relatively flat, broad and square. The tiger shark is the only Grauhai having suction holes. The name comes from the tiger shark tiger-striped pattern of the pups, which fades with age and is only very vaguely or not at all present in old age. The distinct pattern of young animals is often attributed to a Tarnfunktion, because they usually stay near the shore just below the water surface. The shadows of the waves draw similar pattern as that of the young animals in shallow water.

Size and age

The size of the tiger shark is the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias ) are comparable. It is about 5.5 meters long, but has a less bulky form as the great white shark. It is believed that some of the animals may be up to more than 7 meters. Its maximum age can only be estimated, but surely he is at least 12 years old. Adult tiger sharks have due to their size no natural enemies.

Nutrition

The tiger shark has the most diverse food spectrum of all sharks. It feeds on turtles, birds and fish - even other sharks - and can eat almost anything. Because in addition to various prey much filth such as car tires, nails, or car plates was found in Tigerhaimägen, he was decried a long time as "waste -eater " and was accordingly called primitive. He is next to the white shark and the bull shark the most dangerous shark to humans. Most shark accidents while swimming fall back on him. The tiger shark is a Spitzenprädator.

Reproduction

The gestation period for the Tiger Sharks 15-16 months. The pups come with a size of 50 to 70 cm to the world, the number per litter is an average of 41 cannibalism in the womb is at Tiger sharks are not uncommon, the oldest of the young animals eaten already as a fetus younger siblings or unfertilized eggs in the uterus. The females seem to give birth only once every three years.

Dissemination

The tiger shark occurs worldwide in tropical and temperate coastal regions. Turbid waters and regions open into the rivers, he preferred. However, It is also found in the vicinity of island groups such as Hawaii, Tahiti or the Galapagos Islands.

Behavior

About the behavior of this shark is still very little known. It is crepuscular or nocturnal, swims in the evening and at night up in very flat regions and runs during the day again in greater depth back. Tiger sharks are solitary and very curious. The risk of being bitten by a tiger shark is low as for all other shark accidents, although most accidents are due in the tropics tiger sharks. In Hawaiian waters, a region with many tiger sharks, it came despite numerous surfers and swimmers in the Hairevieren average in recent years to less than four accidents per year. Since 2011, this number is steadily increasing. In particular, the sharp rise in shark attacks and the aggressiveness of the animals have prompted a study of the Hawaiian authorities.

Etymology

Galeocerdo ( technical term ) of ( gr ) Galeos " Hai " and Kerdo "fox". Note that the usual genitive -i in the name of the dedicatee, Georges Cuvier, is missing - so this unusually, is in the nominative case. The often correction made cuvieri is inadmissible, although the first authors certainly so write (or have printed ) wanted - it is indeed a misprint, but this must not be corrected because he did not obscures the meaning ( see also Pharomachrus mocinno ).

Use in art

One of the most famous, but also controversial works of art of the 1990s is a work by Damien Hirst called The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living ( translated: The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living ), which has an in formaldehyde represents pickled tiger shark in a glass case.