Tawny Nurse Shark

Nebrius ferrugineus

Bislamasak— names this kind of animal, not this species alone

uncommonVU · Vulnerablebrownsolitaryvery-largereef-crevice

Group: Shark & ray
Habitat: Reef crevice
Max size: 3.2 m
Family: Ginglymostomatidae

The tawny nurse shark is a species of carpet shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae, and the only extant member of the genus Nebrius.

Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Behaviour

Spends the day resting in caves and under ledges, often several animals piled together, and forages over the reef at night.

Easily confused with

Side by side, with what tells them apart.

Both spend the day lying on the bottom in caves and under ledges. Tawny Nurse Shark is brown and heavy, with a pair of barbels at the nostrils, a small mouth, both dorsal fins set far back and a long tail with almost no lower lobe; it grows past 3 m. Whitetip Reef Shark is slim and grey, with bright white tips on its first dorsal fin and upper tail lobe.

See the Whitetip Reef Shark →

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