You can sponsor this page

Galeocerdo cuvier  (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)

Tiger shark
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2100
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Galeocerdo cuvier   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Videos     Stamps, Coins | Google image
Image of Galeocerdo cuvier (Tiger shark)
Galeocerdo cuvier
Picture by Béarez, P.


United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Leopard shark, Mano pa'ele, Niuhi
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also in Ref. 37512, 43939, 96339.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott, 1980
National Database:

Classification / Names

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Main reference

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 750 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 58784); common length : 500 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2683); max. published weight: 807.4 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 50 years (Ref. 4827)

Length at first maturity
Lm ?, range 210 - 350 cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 800 m (Ref. 96339), usually 0 - 140 m (Ref. 26938)

Climate / Range

Subtropical, preferred 26°C (Ref. 107945); 62°N - 42°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution

Circumglobal in tropical and temperate seas. Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA to Uruguay, including Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: Iceland to Angola. Indo-Pacific: Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964), Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and Tahiti, north to southern Japan, south to New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: southern California, USA to Peru, including the Revillagigedo, Cocos, and Galapagos islands. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. A huge, vertical tiger-striped shark with a broad, bluntly rounded snout, long upper labial furrows, and a big mouth with large, saw-edged, cockscomb-shaped teeth; spiracles present; caudal keels low (Ref. 5578). Grey above with vertical dark grey to black bars and spots which appear faded in adults, white below (Ref. 5578).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Usually found near surface to depths of 140 m (Ref. 26938); in Tahiti from 0-350m (Ref. 89972) . Occurs on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves, frequenting river estuaries, off wharves and jetties in harbors, and in coral atolls and lagoons (Ref. 244). Bottom-associated, sometimes pelagic (Ref. 58302). Also off oceanic islands far from other islands and continental land masses (Ref. 244). Makes excursions in the open ocean, but is not a truly oceanic species (Ref. 244). Nocturnal feeder on other sharks, rays, bony fishes, marine mammals, tortoises, seabirds, sea snakes, squids, gastropods, crustaceans, detritus (Ref. 9997), also including toxic or armored fish species such as Lactoria cornuta or Diodon hystrix, porpoises, whales, sea turtles, cephalopods, domestic animals and humans (Ref. 37816). It also feeds on carrion and garbage, including cans, pieces of metal and burlap bags (Ref. 26938). Second only to Carcharodon carcharias in recorded attacks on humans with at least 27 documented attacks sourced to it . One specimen, reportedly taken off Indo-China, weighed 3,110 kg and measured 740 cm (Ref. 9987). May be kept in an aquaria, but does not last for more than a few months (Ref. 244). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Up to 80 young of 51 to 104 cm are born per litter (Ref. 1602). Valued for its meat, fins, hide and liver oil (Ref. 9997) and also for its jaws and cartilage (Ref. 58048). Often used for fishmeal (Ref. 9997). Utilized fresh, dried-salted, smoked and frozen (Ref. 9987). Species from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea has a max size of 750 cm TL (Ref. 47613).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 244)



Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.5   ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=4-11; tmax=50; Fec = 10)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
High vulnerability (64 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
Medium