Species: Ginglymostoma cirratum, Nurse shark
broad flat round head
2 large Ds
brown
under snout: 2 large barbels
Ginglymostoma cirratum (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Nurse shark
A large shark with a broad flattened rounded head; eyes small, oval; a pair of barbels below snout; grooves present between nostrils and mouth; mouth below, with multi-pointed teeth; 5 gill slits, last 2 close together and over pectoral; two dorsal fins of similar size; tail fin moderately long, about one-third of TL, with almost no lower lobe.
Yellow brown to grey brown; young with small dark spots and obscure saddles on back.
Size: to ~ 300 (possibly 430) cm
Lives around reefs, mangroves, and sand flats
Depth range 0-130 m
Southern Baja to Peru.
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Species Data
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- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Rocks
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Sand & gravel
- Reef and soft bottom
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
-
- Carnivore
- No Data
- Diet
-
- Sea-stars/cucumbers/urchins
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
-
- Live birth
- No data
- No pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- All species
- Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America)
- East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West)
- TEP non-endemic
- East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West)
- Regional Endemism
-
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Eastern Pacific non-endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Continent + Island (s)
- Continent
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
-
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- IUCN Red List
-
- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
-
- 430
- Depth Range Min
-
- 0
- Depth Range Max
-
- 130
