Description
· What they look like
Nurse sharks have two rounded dorsal fins with the first being much larger than second, and one anal fin.
· Colour
Adult nurse sharks tend to range from a light yellow tan to dark brown. Younger juveniles sometimes display small black spots, with a light area surround, covering the body lenght.
· Teeth
Nurse sharks have independent teeth, the simplest tooth arrangement in sharks. Basically there is no overlap between teeth, meaning teeth cannot be replaced until the tooth infront is lost.
· Size
Averaging 220-270 cm (7.5-9 ft) in total length and weighing 75-105 kg, adult females reach a larger size than adult males.
· Food
A nocturnal hunter, the nurse shark feeds mainly on fish especially stingrays, molluscs and crustaceans. The nurse shark has small mouth, but its large, vacuum-like throat allow it to suck in food at high speed, allowing the nurse shark to catch fish that would perhaps be to fast in the day.
Habitat
The nurse shark is prodominately a nocturnal animal that rests in caves or crevices in rock in shallow waters during the day. They occasionally occur in groups where they can sometimes be found lying very close to one another.
Nurse sharks are very active during the night. In addition to swimming near the bottom or well off it, the nurse shark can clamber on the sea floor, using its flexible, muscular pectoral fins as limbs. Seen in the opposite pictures.
Danger Factor
Usually thougth of as non-aggressive, the nurse shark will generally swim away when approached. In the past some unprovoked attacks on swimmers and divers have been reported, if disturbed they may bite with a powerful almost sucktion like grip capable of inflicting serious injury. In some cases victims of such injuries have been evacuated to hospital to have the shark removed!
