326 Shark and Company 



Dusky shark {Eulamia [Carcharhinus] obscurus). 



Courtesy, The Sears Foundation for Marine Research from 

 Fishes of the Western North Atlantic by Henry B. Bigelow and William C. Sohroeder, 1948 



Dusky Shark 



[EulaTnia {Carcharhmiis) obscurus hesueur, 1818] 

 (Also Known as Shovelnose Shark, Dusky Ground Shark) 



The Dusky shark is called a man-killer by one expert, and is dis- 

 missed as harmless by another. Its Latin species name, obscurus, would 

 seem to fit this shark. Although known as a distinct species since 1818, 

 the Dusky is still an enigma, and a confusing enigma at that, for it is 

 often mistaken for the Brown shark. 



The two sharks do superficially resemble each other. But the Dusky, 

 which grows to at least 12 and perhaps 14 feet, is bigger than the Brown 

 shark. The Dusky is slimmer, presents a different silhouette and does not 

 have the same coloration. The Dusky is bluish, leaden gray or pale gray 

 above and white below. The lower surfaces of its pelvic fins are grayish 

 and sooty toward the tips. 



The Dusky is found on both sides of the Atlantic, at sea and close 

 to shore, on the western side from southern Massachusetts to southern 

 Florida; on the eastern side from the Mediterranean coast of Spain to 

 South Africa. It is also a Gulf of Mexico resident. 



Small Black-Tipped Shark 

 [Eulamia (Carcharhinus) limbatus Miiller and Henle, 1841] 

 (Also Known as Spot-Fin Shark, Black-Tip Shark, Carconetta) 

 Schools of Small Black-Tipped sharks have been seen swiftly skim- 

 ming along the surface, far at sea. Occasionally, a shark will leap star- 

 tlingly into the air, do as many as three spectacular somersaults, and fall 

 back into the sea. 



These stunts have endeared the acrobatic little Black-Tipped to game 

 fishermen. But their performance on the hook is not consistent: it varies 

 from vigorous to merely resolute. Anglers trolling for tarpon have found 

 this out, for they often hook Small Black-Tipped sharks instead. 



