100 Commercial Shark Fishing in the Caribbean Area 



Figure 34 



Family Carchariidae, Sand Sharks. Only five gill openings, 

 all of them in front of the origin of the pectoral fins; with a 

 spiracle, an anal fin and two dorsal fins, the base of the first dorsal 

 fin wholly in front of the pelvics ; caudal fin less than 1/3 of the 

 total length of the shark; its axis raised but little above the gen- 

 eral axis of the trunk ; teeth slender and fang-like ; eyes without 

 nictitating ("'winking") membrane. 



Genus Carchorias, Sand Sharks. Characters as above. 



Figure 34. Carcharias taurus, Sand Tiger, Sand Shark. 



Description: Trunk moderately slender; caudal peduncle with- 

 out side ridges, with a pit in front of the caudal above but none 

 below; snout tapering, with narrowly rounded tip and about 2/3 

 as long as the mouth is broad ; spiracles minute on a level with 

 eyes about opposite corners of mouth ; a well-marked labial furrow 

 on lower jaw near corner of mouth and one less apparent on upper. 

 About 22 to 24 teeth on each side of upper jaw and 20 to 23 on 

 each side of lower jaw ; upper and lower alike, on broadly divided 

 bases, slender, awl-like, with or without 1 or 2 small basal denticles 

 on either side; fourth upper tooth much smaller than the fifth or 

 sixth, and separated from the fifth by a broad space; the outermost 

 12 or 13 teeth in each jaw very small and close together. Base 

 of first dorsal fin in females a little in front of pelvic fins; second 

 dorsal fin about as large as first dorsal fin and similar to it in 

 shape; caudal with a well-defined lower lobe which is about 1/3 

 as long as upper lobe; anal a little larger than second dorsal; pec- 

 torals with nearly straight distal margins and with rounded corners. 



Color: Light grayish brown, above; grayish Avhite below; the 

 sides variously marked with small yellowish brown or yellow spots, 

 round or oval. 



Size : Matures at a length of about 7 feet and grows commonly 

 to 8 to 10 feet. 



Habits: Chiefly on or close to bottom in shallow inshore waters; 

 caught mostly in one to six fathoms or even shallower. Very voracious, 

 feeding on wide variety of whatever smaller fishes are locally avail- 

 able, also on squid, crabs and lobsters but not on large prey (so 

 far as is yet known). Probably its young are born chiefly in the 

 northern part of its range, but little is known of its breeding 

 habits. 



Range: Both sides of North Atlantic with close allies in Ar- 

 gentine waters and in the Indo-Pacific While not definitely re- 

 corded for the Caribbean, this shark is to be expected throughout 

 the region for it is plentiful; also southern Brazil (Rio de Janeiro 

 to Rio Grande do Sul) on the one hand and the east coast of Flor- 

 ida on the other, as well as northward all along the east coast of 

 the United States as far as Cape Cod during the summer. In Florida 

 it is taken at all seasons; northward, however, it occurs only as a 

 summer visitor. 



