Tiger Shark
|
|
| Tiger shark | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missing image Tiger_shark.png | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Galeocerdo cuvier (P鲯n & Lesueur, 1822) |
The Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is one of the largest sharks, and is common in the mid-Pacific region. The Tiger Shark hunts alone and gets its name from the dark stripes across its back, which fade as the shark grows older. It is a deadly predator known for eating a wide, and legendary, variety of things. The Tiger Shark is the species known for being found with license plates or pieces of old tires in its digestive tract.
It has a very large mouth, with powerful jaws. Its teeth are flat, triangular, notched and serrated and can slice right through many things.
When a tiger shark loses one of its teeth, it will grow another one to replace the lost or broken tooth. Its head is somewhat wedge-shaped which makes it easy for the shark to turn quickly to one side. It can weigh up to 1 ton (2,200 pounds), on average, and is usually 3 to 5 meters long (10 to 16 feet), but can grow up to 7 meters long (23 feet). It has a long upper tail lobe that helps to provide lift and its sudden bursts of speed.