Description
The bigeye sand tiger is similar in appearance to the better-known sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), with a bulky body, bulbous pointed snout, and large mouth containing several rows of projecting teeth. Tooth shape is the most reliable way of distinguishing this species from Odontaspis ferox: in this species the teeth have a narrow central cusp with one small lateral cusp on each side, whereas in O. ferox there are two or three lateral cusps on each side. There are 34–43 tooth rows in the upper jaw and 37–46 rows in the lower; the large upper front teeth are separated from the lateral tooth rows by usually a single row of intermediate teeth. The eyes are relatively large and orange in color, with a greenish pupil and lacking a nictating membrane.
There are two dorsal fins, the first larger than the second and located closer to the pectoral fins than the pelvic fins. The first dorsal fin, pectoral fins, and anal fin have rounded tips. A pair of upper precaudal pits are present. The caudal fin is long and strongly asymmetrical, with an indistinct lower lobe. This species is dark chocolate brown to reddish brown in color. There are several black patches inside the mouth, such as around the jaws and on the tongue. The fins are black, sometimes with a white tip on the first dorsal fin or thin dark posterior margins. The maximum known length is 3.6 m (12 ft) for a male and 3.3 m (11 ft) for a female.
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“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St. Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)