Smalltooth sand tiger
| Smalltooth sand tiger | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Superorder: | Selachimorpha |
| Order: | Lamniformes |
| Family: | Odontaspididae |
| Genus: | Odontaspis |
| Species: | O. ferox |
| Binomial name | |
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Odontaspis ferox (A. Risso, 1810) |
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| Range of the smalltooth sand tiger | |
| Synonyms | |
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Odontaspis herbsti Whitley, 1950 |
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Odontaspis herbsti Whitley, 1950
Squalus ferox A. Risso, 1810
The smalltooth sand tiger or bumpytail ragged-tooth (Odontaspis ferox) is a species of mackerel shark in the family Odontaspididae, with a patchy but worldwide distribution in tropical and warm temperate waters. They usually inhabit deepwater rocky habitats, though they are occasionally encountered in shallow water, and have been known to return to the same location year after year. This rare species is often mistaken for the much more common grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus), from which it can be distinguished by its first dorsal fin, which is larger than the second and placed further forward. It grows to at least 4.1 m (13.5 ft) in length.
Very little is known of the biology and behavior of the smalltooth sand tiger. It is an active predator of benthic bony fishes, invertebrates, and cartilaginous fishes. This species is thought to be ovoviviparous with oophagous embryos like other mackerel sharks. In contrast to its formidable size and appearance, this shark is harmless, having never been known to behave aggressively towards humans. There is concern that its numbers are declining due to human activities in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, though existing data is inadequate for a full assessment of its conservation status.
The smalltooth sand tiger was originally described as Squalus ferox by Italian-French naturalist Antoine Risso in 1810, based on a specimen from Nice, France. In 1950, Gilbert Percy Whitley described O. herbsti from Australian specimens, separating them from O. ferox on the basis of dentition and the absence of spots. Leonard Compagno synonymized the two species in 1984, as subsequently discovered Pacific specimens had blurred Whitley's distinguishing characters. The specific epithet ferox is Latin for "fierce". Other common names for this shark include blue nurse shark, fierce shark, Herbst's nurse shark, and sand tiger shark.
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