Uhhh,
what is this under me?
A shark?
a young whale shark maybe?.... with company btw..
It's a harmless Nurse shark..
The nurse shark is light yellowish-brown to dark brown, sometimes
have small dark spots. It has a flattened body and a broad, rounded head
with two conspicuous barbels between the nostrils, which are used to
help find food. The mouth is filled with rows of small, serrated teeth
for crushing hard-shelled prey.
Generally slow and sluggish, nurse sharks spend much of their time
resting on the ocean's bottom. Unlike many sharks, this species is
non-migratory—the nurse shark adapts to cold by becoming even less
active!
Nurse sharks reach sexual maturity at 18 years for males, and 20 to
22 years for females. Females produce a litter of about 20 to 25 pups
every other year.
(picture from internet)
Did You Know?
The nurse shark can use its large front fins to “walk” along the ocean floor.
Diet
Although they may appear sluggish, nurse sharks slurp up benthic, or
bottom-dwelling, organisms in their bellows-like mouths with amazing
speed. They feed mostly at night on spiny lobsters and other
crustaceans, small stingrays, sea urchins, squid and bony fishes.
Size
Female nurse sharks, averaging 7.5 to 9 feet in length and 165 to 230 pounds, are slightly larger than males.
Range
Common in tropical and subtropical coastal waters on both sides of
North America, nurse sharks often inhabit reefs and rest during the day
on sandy bottoms or in caves and crevices. They show a strong preference
for certain resting sites, repeatedly returning to the same spot after
their nocturnal forages.
Predators
No species is known to regularly prey on nurse sharks, although they
have been found in the stomach contents of lemon, tiger, bull and great
hammerhead sharks.
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Description
Nurse shark in the sand
Nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, from the Ginglymostomatidae family.
Its body is yellow-brown to gray-brown, with or without small dark
spots and obscure dorsal saddle markings. Mouth is set forward of eyes
and is relatively high up on the head – maintaining a more forward
position. Noticeable barbells are present, along with nasoral grooves
(though there are no perinasal grooves). Spiracles are minute. Dorsal
fins are broad and rounded, with the first dorsal being considerably
larger than the second. Dorsal fins are set relatively far back along
the ventral surface. The upper lobe of the caudal fin is considerably
longer than the lower lobe. The caudal fin itself comprises roughly one
quarter of the overall body length.
They can get quite large with a length of up to 4.5 meters (15ft) as
adults. These large creatures reach weights as high as 150 kilograms
(330 pounds). Typically, they live to between 25 and 35 years of age.
Unlike most sharks, which require constant motion to move water over
their gills and maintain a sufficient internal blood pressure, the nurse
shark often remains motionless along the bottom – actively pumping
water over its gills through the continual opening and closing of its
mouth.
Location
They prefer warm seas and range through the Atlantic and east
Pacific. This species is often found along reef sites, within mangrove
channels, and on sand or sea grass flats. They are often observed at
depths of a meter or less within the intertidal zone, though they are
known to range down to depths of at least 12 meters.
Diving with Nurse sharks
Nurse sharks have long elegant lines, and, since they move
sluggishly, you don’t have to worry about scaring them away. Nurse
sharks are nocturnal animals, spending the day in large inactive groups
of up to 40 individuals. They can be a special sight when encountered in
such groups. Nurse sharks are generally considered to be a docile shark
species. Virtually every tallied attack has been provoked, so unless
one tries to pull its tail, you will have a safe close encounter, should
you meet one.
