28 GIANT FISHES 



NURSE SHARKS 



(Genus Ginglymostoma.) Fig. 16. 



The body is long and nearly circular in cross-section, and 

 the tail is long and bent upwards at its base. The head is 

 short and blunt, and the snout does not project much beyond 

 the straight mouth. The eyes are small and without folds 

 below. There are several rows of small teeth in each jaw, all 

 or most of the rows being in use at one time (Fig. 59) ; each 

 tooth has 3 or more points. The spiracles are small and 

 situated behind the eyes. The external gill-clefts are of 

 moderate size, the last 2 close together, and the last 2 or 3 

 above the base of the pectoral fin. The second dorsal fin is 

 above or partly in front of the anal, which is quite free from 

 the caudal fin, the lower lobe of which has a small notch. The 

 coloration is more or less uniformly brownish, but young 

 individuals often have small, scattered round black spots. 



Grow to a length of 6 to 12 feet. 



The Common Nurse Shark or Gata (G cirratum) is found in 

 the tropical Atlantic and on the west coast of Mexico. Other 

 species occur in various parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 



The Nurse Sharks are shore-dwelling creatures, and the 

 common species is abundant in the comparatively shallow 

 water round Florida Keys and in the coral reefs of the West 

 Indies. They are sluggish and quite inoffensive, and may often 

 be observed basking in the sunshine in small groups, or nosing 

 about in search of food among masses of seaweed or pieces of 

 loose coral. At times they lie in water so shallow that their 

 dorsal fins project above the surface, and they have been 

 known to allow a boat to bump into their heads before moving 

 away. 



These sharks have a varied taste in food, including such 

 diverse creatures as small fishes, squids, cuttlefishes, shrimps, 

 lobsters, crabs, sea-urchins and shellfish in their diet. An 

 American author has described them as looking like " well-fed 

 pigs in a barnyard ", and adds that " there is no more sport in 

 harpooning or hooking one than in doing so to a fat pig ". 

 " So harmless, so sluggish and so lacking in fear are these 



