Grey Nurse Shark biology and ecology
Dr N. M. Otway
Senior Research Scientist
New South Wales Fisheries
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The grey nurse shark, Carcharias taurus (Rafinesque, 1810) is one of four species belonging to the family Odontaspididae (Compagno 1984). The shark has a large, stout, fusiform body with similarly-sized first and second dorsal fins and an asymmetrical caudal fin with a strong ventral lobe. The second dorsal fin is closer to the pelvic fins than it is to the pectoral fins. The head has a flattened-conical snout, small eyes without a nictitating membrane and a long mouth extending behind the eyes. Teeth on the upper and lower jaws are awl-like having long, narrow cusps with single lateral cusplets. Individuals vary in colour from grey to grey-brown dorsally, with a paler off white under belly. Reddish or brownish spots may also occur on the caudal fin and posterior half of the body, particularly in (Compagno 1984, Last & Stevens 1994, Pollard et al. 1996, Otway & Parker 2000).
Grey nurse sharks grow to over 300 cm total length with the largest specimens reported from South Africa - 320 cm (Torres 1991), the east coast of the USA - 318 cm (Bigelow & Schroeder 1948, Compagno 1984) and Brazil - 282 cm (Sadowsky 1970). In SE Australia, Grey nurse sharks grow to at least 320 cm total length (Otway unpubl. data).
