Description
The eyes of the sand tiger shark are small, lacking eyelids, one of the shark's many distinct characteristics. The head is rather pointy, as opposed to round, while the snout is flattened with a conical shape. Its body is stout and bulky and its mouth extends beyond the eyes. The sand tiger shark usually swims with its mouth open displaying three rows of protruding, smooth-edged, sharp-pointed teeth. Adult sharks tend to have reddish-brown spots scattered around their entire body. Juvenile sand tiger sharks have yellow-brown spots on their bodies. The sand tiger shark has a grey back and white underside. The males have grey claspers with white tips located on the underside of their body. The caudal fin is elongated and has a long upper lobe. They have two large, broad-based grey dorsal fins set back beyond the pectoral fins. The pectoral fins are triangular, and the tail is almost one-third as long as the shark's head. The sand tiger's length at sexual maturity averages 1.9 to 1.95 m (6.2 to 6.4 ft) in males and 2.2 m (7.2 ft) in females, the latter being the larger-bodied sex. Large mature specimens can attain a length of 3.0 to 3.4 meters (9.8 to 11.2 ft). A specimen of 50 kg (110 lb) in weight is considered "medium"-sized while a 95 to 110 kg (210 to 240 lb) specimen is considered "average"-sized. Sand tiger sharks have been reported to attain a maximum mass of 159 kg (350 lb), however some sources claim the specimen can attain a weight of 300 kg (660 lb).
In August 2007, an albino specimen was photographed off South West Rocks, Australia.
Read more about this topic: Sand Tiger Shark
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“Once a child has demonstrated his capacity for independent functioning in any area, his lapses into dependent behavior, even though temporary, make the mother feel that she is being taken advantage of....What only yesterday was a description of the childs stage in life has become an indictment, a judgment.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)
“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
—Paul Tillich (18861965)
“To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.”
—Oscar Wilde (18541900)