Nurse Sharks Facts
Nurse Sharks Facts
2. Nurse sharks are nocturnal and nocturnal means they sleep all day and stays awake all night.
3. Nurse sharks will pile on top of each other at the bottom of the sea.
4. Nurse sharks hunt at night.
5. They are carnivores which means they eat meat. They will eat things like octopus, sea urchins, squids, shrimp, puffer fish and crabs.
6. Tiger sharks and lemon sharks will attack Nurse Sharks.
7. Found in the Atlantic Ocean from Rhode Island to Brazil and in the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California to Ecuador. They inhabit reefs in inshore shallow tropical waters, bays, and estuaries.
8. Nurse sharks are sluggish bottom dwellers and feeders. The mouth is used like a vacuum to suck prey out of crevices. They are docile by nature and are non-aggressive unless disturbed. They are mostly nocturnal and rest piled on top of each other in caves and on reefs. Nurse sharks are often found in groups of 20-30 individuals.
9. Grey nurse sharks have large stout bodies, a pointed snout and small eyes which make them look quite scary! However grey nurse sharks are not a threat to divers or swimmers and they actually have a very placid nature. Grey nurse sharks have two large dorsal fins which are of similar size. The tail is distinctive, with the top lobe being larger than the bottom. Their upper body is bronze-coloured, while the underside is paler. Juveniles tend to have darker spots on the lower half of their body which fade as they get older.
10. Averaging 7.5-9 ft in total length and weighing 75-105 kg (167-233 lbs). Females grow larger then males. Males, however, weigh a bit more than female nurse sharks with males tipping the scales at 200 to 267 pounds (90 to 120 kilograms) and females weighing in anywhere from 167 to 233 pounds.
11. The nurse shark has a small mouth, but its large, bellow-like pharynx allows it to suck in food items at high speed. This system probably allows the species to prey on small fish that are resting at night, species that are too active for the sluggish nurse shark to catch during the day. Heavy-shelled conchs are flipped over, and the snail extracted by use of suction and teeth.
13. Male grey nurse sharks bite females during the courtship process. In the breeding season, it is common to see small scars on the females.
14. Grey nurse sharks are able to swallow air at the surface of the water in order to give them buoyancy control.
15. Despite the size and shape of their teeth, the teeth of the grey nurse shark are not very strong.
16. Nurse sharks show a strong preference for certain resting sites, and repeatedly return to the same caves and crevices after a nocturnal activity.
17. The nurse shark has a few other anatomical features that help with eating, including a pharynx, which is a muscular cavity that can suck in food like a vacuum. You might also notice barbels, or whiskers, on the nurse shark's snout; these help the nurse shark sense nearby food.
18. Two nasal barbels (look like fleshy whiskers) are found near the mouth to help them feel around for prey on the reefs and the sandy ocean floor.
19. They are grayish to yellowish brown in color, and can change colors to match their surroundings.
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