''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark.

Description

''Carcharias'' are 2.5 m long on average. The maximum weight of the shark is 158.8 kg. Differentiating species of sharks is usually done by locating and measuring their fins. The second

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

and the anal fin of ''Carcharias'' are very large. In fact, they are about equal in size. The pectoral fins are triangular and only slightly larger than the dorsal fins. The teeth are very long and narrow with sharp points. The teeth are smooth with no ridges. The tail is one third of the entire body size.

Diet

''Carcharias'' species hunt bony fish, small sharks, rays, squids, crabs, and lobsters.

Habitat

Sand tiger sharks live in water depths ranging from 0 to 190 meters. They are found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. They are commonly found in surf zones.

Species

With the Greek name 'Carcharias' literally translating to “shark”, many presently extant species have been placed into this genus before being moved to different genera and orders.

Extant species

* ''

Carcharias taurus The sand tiger shark (''Carcharias taurus''), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy sho ...

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...

, 1810 (sand tiger shark)

Species previously described in this genus

* ''

Carcharias acutidens The sicklefin lemon shark (''Negaprion acutidens'') or sharptooth lemon shark is a species of requiem shark belonging to the family Carcharhinidae, widely distributed in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. It is closely related to the better ...

'' Rüppell, 1837 (accepted as ''

Negaprion acutidens The sicklefin lemon shark (''Negaprion acutidens'') or sharptooth lemon shark is a species of requiem shark belonging to the family Carcharhinidae, widely distributed in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. It is closely related to the better ...

'') * ''

Carcharias borneensis The Borneo shark (''Carcharhinus borneensis'') is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae. Extremely rare, it is known only from inshore waters around Mukah in northwestern Borneo, though it may once have been more w ...

'' Seale, 1910 (accepted as ''

Carcharhinus sealei The blackspot shark (''Carcharhinus sealei'') is a small species of requiem shark in the family Carcharhinidae found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean between latitudes 24°N and 30°S, from the surface to a depth around . Its length is ...

'') * ''

Carcharias brachyrhynchos The pigeye shark or Java shark (''Carcharhinus amboinensis'') is an uncommon species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found in the warm coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic and western Indo-Pacific. It prefers shallow, murky env ...

'' Bleeker, 1859 (accepted as ''

Carcharhinus amboinensis The pigeye shark or Java shark (''Carcharhinus amboinensis'') is an uncommon species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found in the warm coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic and western Indo-Pacific. It prefers shallow, murky env ...

'') * ''

Carcharias brevipinna The spinner shark (''Carcharhinus brevipinna'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family (biology), family Carcharhinidae, named for the spinning leaps it makes as a part of its feeding strategy. This species occurs in tropical and warm tempe ...

'' Müller & Henle, 1839 (accepted as ''

Carcharhinus brevipinna The spinner shark (''Carcharhinus brevipinna'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, named for the spinning leaps it makes as a part of its feeding strategy. This species occurs in tropical and warm temperate waters worldw ...

'') * ''

Carcharias falciformis The silky shark (''Carcharhinus falciformis''), also known by numerous names such as blackspot shark, gray whaler shark, olive shark, ridgeback shark, sickle shark, sickle-shaped shark and sickle silk shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the f ...

'' Müller & Henle, 1839 (accepted as ''

Carcharhinus falciformis The silky shark (''Carcharhinus falciformis''), also known by numerous names such as blackspot shark, gray whaler shark, olive shark, ridgeback shark, sickle shark, sickle-shaped shark and sickle silk shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the f ...

'') * ''

Carcharias fronto The lemon shark (''Negaprion brevirostris'') is a species of shark from the family Carcharhinidae and is classified as a Vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Lemon sharks can grow to in length. They are o ...

'' Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 (accepted as ''

Negaprion brevirostris The lemon shark (''Negaprion brevirostris'') is a species of shark from the family Carcharhinidae and is classified as a Vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Lemon sharks can grow to in length. They are o ...

'') * ''

Carcharias hemiodon The Pondicherry shark (''Carcharhinus hemiodon'') is an extremely rare species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae. A small and stocky gray shark, it grows not much longer than and has a fairly long, pointed snout. This species can be ...

'' Müller & Henle, 1839 (accepted as ''

Carcharhinus hemiodon The Pondicherry shark (''Carcharhinus hemiodon'') is an extremely rare species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae. A small and stocky gray shark, it grows not much longer than and has a fairly long, pointed snout. This species can be ...

'') * ''

Carcharias sealei The blackspot shark (''Carcharhinus sealei'') is a small species of requiem shark in the family Carcharhinidae found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean between latitudes 24°N and 30°S, from the surface to a depth around . Its length is ...

'' Pietschmann, 1913 (accepted as ''

'')

Extinct species

Extinct species within this genus lived from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

period to the Quaternary period (from 99.7 to 0.012 Ma). Fossils have been found all over the world, especially in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

and

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

sediments of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, the

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and Australia, in the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

and the

, as well as in the

of Australia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, the

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Species from the fossil record include: MenuhaCarchariasHolmdelensis

Cretaceous species

* '' Carcharias tenuiplicatus'' * '' Carcharias holmdelensis''

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...

* '' Carcharias samhammeri'' Late Cretaceous * ''

Carcharias heathi ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' Late Cretaceous

Paleogene species

*'' Carcharias acutissima'' (

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he re ...

, 1844) - Late Eocene *''

Carcharias atlasi ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' *''

Carcharias hopei ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' (

, 1843) - Late Palaeocene - Eocene *''

Carcharias koerti ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' (Stromer, 1905) *''

Carcharias robusta ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

''? (Leriche, 1921) - Early Eocene *'' Carcharias teretidens'' - maybe placed into its own genus as ''Sylvestrilamia teretidens'' *'' Carcharias teretidens'' (White, 1931), - Late Palaeocene - Eocene *''

Carcharias tingitana ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' (Arambourg, 1952) *''

Carcharias vincenti ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' (Woodward, 1899) *''

Carcharias whitei ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' (Arambourg, 1952) - Paleocene

Neogene

*'' Carcharias acutissima'' (Agassiz, 1843), Oligocene - Pliocene *''

Carcharias reticulata ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' (Probst, 1879), Oligocene - Miocene *''

Carcharias cuspidata ''Carcharias'' is a genus of sand tiger sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the critically endangered sand tiger shark. Description ''Carcharias'' ar ...

'' (Agassiz, 1843), Oligocene - Miocene *''

'' Rafinesque, 1810, Pliocene - Present *''

'' (Agassiz, 1843), Pliocene - Miocene *''Carcharias'' sp. - unidentified but maybe similar to the ''Carcharias contortidens'' as described by Agassiz in 1843, from the Miocene. *''

'' (Kent 1994) maybe classified as ''Odontaspis acutissma'' (Agassiz 1843) from the Miocene.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q578852 Odontaspididae Extant Cretaceous first appearances Shark genera Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Fish genera with one living species