Tiger shark
Galeocerdo cuvier
— Where the name comes from
Galeocerdo is Greek for “fox shark”, from galéos, shark, and kérdō, fox, for its cunning; cuvier honours the great naturalist Georges Cuvier. The common name comes from the dark stripes on the flanks of the young, which fade with age. It is nicknamed “the dustbin of the sea” for what it swallows.
— Facts
- Group
- Fish · Actinopterygii · Chondrichthyes
- Order
- Ground sharks
- Habitat
- Tropical coastal waters, lagoons, reefs
- Range
- Tropical and warm-temperate seas worldwide
- Size
- 3–5 m, up to 5.5 m
- Diet
- Carnivore — turtles, seals, fish, birds, carrion, rubbish
- Lifespan
- 30–40 years
— Characteristics
- 01
It has serrated blade-like teeth that can cut through the shell of a sea turtle.
- 02
It eats practically anything: objects of every kind have been found in its stomach.
- 03
The tiger stripes, obvious in the young, nearly vanish in adults.
— What sets it apart
The tiger shark is called “the sea’s waste bin” for its indiscriminate diet: number plates, tyres, bottles and baseballs have been found in its stomach. It is one of the few sharks able to cut through the horny shell of a sea turtle, thanks to unique teeth, curved and serrated like small saws. And it has another peculiarity: the females carry the eggs inside the body and give birth to as many as eighty young, already self-sufficient.
