Finetooth Shark - Biology and Ecology

Biology and Ecology

Both adults and juvenile finetooth sharks form large schools. This energetic, fast-moving predator feeds mainly on small bony fishes, often entering the surf zone during the day to hunt. The most important prey of this species in the northwestern Atlantic is the Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), with sharks of all ages off northwestern Florida eat almost nothing else. The menhaden are swallowed whole after the head has been removed. Other known prey species include spot croaker (Leiostomus xanthurus), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), mullet (Mugil spp.), shrimp, and in one case a juvenile Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), which may have been scavenged from the bycatch discard of a shrimp trawler. The finetooth shark may be preyed upon by larger sharks.