Sharks
Nurse Shark
Ginglymostoma cirratum · Cartilaginous fish — family Ginglymostomatidae
The nurse shark is the Caribbean's resident couch dweller: a heavy-bodied, small-eyed animal the color of wet sand, folded under a ledge with its barbels drooping and its tail poking into the current. It can pump water over its gills while motionless, so entire dives pass while it does precisely nothing — then a night dive reveals the other nurse shark, nosing urgently through coral and inhaling octopus with an audible thump. At Belize's Shark Ray Alley and Bahamian feed sites they swarm like eager dogs. Its mellow reputation is deserved, right up until someone grabs one.
Wo und wann man eines sieht
„Resident" bedeutet, dass die meisten Tauchgänge am jeweiligen Tauchziel eine Begegnung erwarten lassen; „saisonal" bedeutet, dass die Art in den genannten Monaten zuverlässig anzutreffen ist; alles andere ist ein Bonus, keine Planungsgrundlage.
| Ziel | Zuverlässigkeit | Monate | Hinweise |
|---|---|---|---|
| CozumelMexico | Resident — seen on most dives | Ganzjährig | |
| Belize Barrier ReefBelize | Resident — seen on most dives | Ganzjährig | |
| Florida KeysUnited States | Resident — seen on most dives | Ganzjährig | |
| Grand CaymanCayman Islands | Resident — seen on most dives | Ganzjährig | |
| Nassau & New ProvidenceThe Bahamas | Resident — seen on most dives | Ganzjährig |
Bester Monat auf einen Blick
Sie verstehen
Lebensraum: Reefs, ledges, mangrove channels, and seagrass flats; rests by day under overhangs, often in piles
Verbreitung: Tropical western Atlantic from Florida and the Bahamas to Brazil, plus the eastern Pacific coast of the Americas; the similar tawny nurse shark replaces it in the Indo-Pacific
Verhalten: A sedentary, nocturnal bottom-dweller with barbels like a catfish and a tail that trails behind it lazily. Days are spent wedged beneath ledges, frequently stacked on other nurse sharks; nights are spent slurping prey out of holes. Habituated animals at feed sites become boldly food-focused.
Ernährung: Crustaceans, mollusks, and small fish vacuumed off the bottom with a powerful suction feed you can sometimes hear
Größe: typischerweise rund 2.3 m; dokumentiert bis zu 3.1 m (total length).
Wie man sich in ihrer Nähe verhält
No tail-pulling, no riding, no lifting resting animals for photos — behavior once common and now rightly banned. Give resting sharks their ledge and keep bait well managed at feed sites.
Naturschutz
Moved to Vulnerable in 2020 as inshore fishing and habitat loss eroded populations outside protected areas; still locally abundant in Florida, the Bahamas, and Belize.
Bekannte Tauchplätze dafür
Ansehen
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