Ginglymostomatidae

Atlantic nurse shark

The nurse sharks ( Ginglymostomatidae ) are a poor family of sharks. They are close relatives of the carpet sharks ( Orectolobatidae ) and whale sharks ( Rhincodontidae ). In English they are called nurse shark.

The three types of nurse sharks are found in on both sides of the Atlantic, on the coast of the eastern Pacific ( California to Chile), in the tropical Indo-Pacific and Red Sea.

Features

These are small to large sharks which can reach a length of 75 cm to 4.30 m. Her hull is slightly flattened dorsoventrally. Nurse sharks have with their mouths connected Nasoralgruben, short to long barbels on the nose openings and very small spray holes behind the eyes. A nictitating membrane is missing. Your rostrum is short and ends obtuse to rounded. The relatively small mouth is covered with small teeth. The gill slits 4 and 5 are very close to the pectoral and overlap each other almost.

Nurse sharks have two stingless dorsal fins, the second begins well before the anal fin. The tail fins stem is remarkably short, shorter than the head, and without pits or keels. The number of vertebrae is located at 135 to 195 your body top is usually gray, yellow, yellow-green or reddish-brown, while the underparts is brighter. Juveniles are mottled dark.

Way of life

Nurse sharks are slow, sociable and ground-dwelling sharks that occur in rocky or coral reefs, and on sand and mud flats of the intertidal zone to depths of about 70 meters. Prey to nocturnal hunters include various invertebrates such as sea urchins, lobsters, crabs, octopus or squid, but also fish bones. When hunting nurse sharks show the typical behavior of Saugfressens, where she hid loot simply suck in columns or under rubble by setting up the mouth and the throat expand this quickly.

All nurse sharks multiply - like most cartilaginous fish - ovoviviparous ( yolk sac viviparity ), so they are viviparous. Mating takes place, as in sharks usual, by introducing the Klaspers of the male animal in the cloaca of the female. The fry are born fully developed.

The people against it are only dangerous if they are provoked.

Genera and species

• Genus Ginglymostoma Atlantic nurse shark ( Ginglymostoma cirratum ) Bonnaterre, 1788

• Tawny nurse shark ( Nebrius ferrugineus ) Lesson, 1831

• Short-tailed nurse shark ( Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum ) Günther, 1867