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.
Dove e quando avvistarne uno
"Residente" significa che la maggior parte delle immersioni in quella destinazione li incontra; "stagionale" significa che sono presenti in modo affidabile nei mesi indicati; qualsiasi altra cosa è un bonus, non un piano.
| Destinazione | Affidabilità | Mesi | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| CozumelMexico | Resident: seen on most dives | Tutto l'anno | |
| Belize Barrier ReefBelize | Resident: seen on most dives | Tutto l'anno | |
| Florida KeysUnited States | Resident: seen on most dives | Tutto l'anno | |
| Grand CaymanCayman Islands | Resident: seen on most dives | Tutto l'anno | |
| Nassau & New ProvidenceThe Bahamas | Resident: seen on most dives | Tutto l'anno |
Il mese migliore, a colpo d'occhio
Capirle
Habitat: Reefs, ledges, mangrove channels, and seagrass flats; rests by day under overhangs, often in piles
Distribuzione: 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
Comportamento: 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.
Dieta: Crustaceans, mollusks, and small fish vacuumed off the bottom with a powerful suction feed you can sometimes hear
Dimensioni: tipicamente intorno a 2.3 m; documentato fino a 3.1 m (total length).
Come comportarsi in sua presenza
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.
Conservazione
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.
Siti mappati noti per avvistamenti
I siti evidenziati sono stati schedati per questa specie dai nostri redattori; i numeri sono record di occorrenza GBIF registrati entro circa 5 km dal sito a partire dal 1990.
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Dai canali ufficiali
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