#nursesharkprofiles

Species Profile No. 22: The Tawny Nurse Shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) • The tawny nurse shark is another coastal shark species, preferring to live in reefs, seagrass beds, and sandy flats. Like many other reef sharks, they are nocturnal. They rest in piles of 20+ sharks during the day, and come out at night to hunt. • Tawny nurse sharks are listed as Vulnerable. Their reproduction is poorly understood, but it is suspected that they produce only one or two pups per litter. • Tawny nurse sharks aren’t usually targeted by fisheries, but they are sometimes caught for their meat, fins, liver oil, leather, and fish meal. They are also caught as bycatch, and suffer due to the degradation of coral reefs. They are sometimes harassed by divers due to their non-aggressive nature. Their population is currently still decreasing, and there are no measures in place to protect them in any way. • If you want to help obscure species like the tawny nurse shark, please support Shark Advocates International and the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #shark #sharks #tawnynurseshark #nurseshark #carpetsharks #nursesharkprofiles #carpetsharkprofiles https://www.instagram.com/p/BvkH9eHFR9i/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xi0sry014pyf

Photos taken by @sapphireiceheartt! The first picture was taken at Miami Seaquarium, the second was taken at Theater Of The Sea. • We have now posted profiles of every species of nurse shark! This small family contains only four species, but even though it is small, it’s surprisingly diverse. The shorttail nurse shark grows to be only 29 inches long, while the nurse shark can grow up to 10 feet long! Some species of nurse shark lay eggs, but the tawny nurse shark gives birth to live pups that are nourished by eating infertile eggs whilst still in the womb. The different members of this family do have some things in common. They seem to prefer shallow habitats, and at least three of the four nurse sharks can frequently be found in coral reefs. Nurse sharks don’t have to be swimming forward in order to breathe, so they can lay down to rest during the day! These sharks also use suction to catch their prey. • Of the four species of nurse sharks, -One is Not Assessed -One is Data Deficient -Two are Vulnerable This shows that this family is in great need of additional research and protection measures. If you want to learn more about the threats faced by each individual nurse shark species, you can look through our coverage of the family by looking through #nursesharkprofiles and #carpetsharkprofiles! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvm0lzRlx3v/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1av3wat7tuc1x

Species Profile No. 21: The Pacific Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma unami). • This species of shark is very poorly understood. The first paper that seems to describe them was published in 2005, making them a fairly recent discovery. They are physically different from “normal” nurse sharks with the placement of their fins, as well as the fact that they have extremely large pectoral fins. • This species is not even listed on the IUCN Red List, meaning that it is Not Assessed. We have absolutely no clue what the population of this shark is. They could be thriving, or be on the brink of extinction. Cases like this really highlight the need for more shark research! There are plenty of species like the Pacific nurse shark that are not assessed; sharks that we have no knowledge of, species that may need legal protection. If you want to support the research of species like this, we recommend supporting the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and Shark Advocates International. •••••••••••••••••••••••••• #shark #sharks #nurseshark #carpetshark #education #sharkeducation #nursesharkprofiles #carpetsharkprofiles https://www.instagram.com/p/BvfokAoFLhr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wdtmnnyzk9nv

Species Profile No. 19: Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum). • Nurse sharks are large carpet sharks, which means that they’re in the same family as whale sharks! They mostly live in shallow waters, such as reefs, seagrass flats, and mangrove islands. They rest on the ocean floor or in rocky nooks books during the day and come out to hunt at night! • Nurse sharks are listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN. They carry their pups for 6 months and give birth to 21-29 pups, but it takes females 18 months to develop another batch of eggs to be fertilized. • These sharks are known to be caught as bycatch, but when they are released after being caught accidentally, they have high survival rates. Their meat and fins aren’t very valuable, so they are intentionally caught by only a few fisheries but are often captured for home aquariums. Their general population is very poorly understood, hence their status as Data Deficient, and more research is needed to properly understand the threats they face. • Nurse sharks are managed in some places, but since their population is unknown, it is impossible to know whether or not the protective measures help these sharks. Since they generally survive being released after being accidentally captured, mandatory release policies would likely help this species. They also need to be researched more! • To help species like the nurse shark, please support Shark Advocates International and the IUCN Shark Specialist Group ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #shark #sharks #nurseshark #bycatch #stopoverfishing #savesharks #carpetshark #nursesharkprofiles #carpetsharkprofiles https://www.instagram.com/p/Bum87ZoFU6f/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4zl1l4srlmq8

Species Profile No. 20: The Shorttail Nurse Shark (Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum). • The shorttail nurse shark lives in shallow water along coastal and insular shelves, including reef habitats. This is a very under-researched and poorly understood shark. Virtually nothing is known about their diet, habits, or reproduction in the wild. As such, this will be a bit of a non-conventional species profile! • Shorttail nurse sharks are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. They are a very small species, with an adult length 29 inches, making popular among private aquarists. The IUCN states that it is unknown how badly collection for the aquarium trade is affecting these sharks. Since captive breeding is rare for these species, practically all captive shorttails were caught in the wild. • There is currently no information available regarding the breeding of this species in the wild. They have been bred in captivity, with the first instance of this occurring at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam in 2006. The BRAY Sea Life Centre also bred these sharks in 2017, and then hatched the first second generation captive bred shorttails on new year’s day in 2019! There is also one private aquarist in Canada who has bred them successfully. I have seen references to private aquarists breeding them in the US, but have yet to see any confirmation of these claims. The Canadian aquarist says that females produce six eggs annually. I contacted BRAY Sea Life Centre, and they told me that their females produce an egg once every three months, and the eggs take 7 months to hatch. Both of these reports suggest that shorttail nurse sharks produce a fairly small amount of young per year, which leaves them vulnerable to overfishing. • Shorttail nurse sharks are fished for by local, small-scale sustenance fisheries, and are caught as bycatch by more commercial fisheries. The meat is eaten by locals, while fins and jaws are sold. This species also suffers due to destruction and degradation of coral reefs. • To help obscure species like the shorttail nurse shark, please support Shark Advocates International and the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. ••••••••••••••••••• #nursesharkprofiles #carpetsharkprofiles https://www.instagram.com/p/BvSskY_Fru4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ueoznmoj7utq