Nurse Sharks

Common name: Nurse Shark
Binomial: Ginglymostoma cirratum
Family: Ginglymostomatidae
Order: Orectoblobiformes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Class: Chondrichthyes
Phylum: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia

Color: Yellowish gray
Average Size: Male – 7 feet, 11 inches; Female – 8 feet, 1 inch
Where They Live: The nurse shark is usually an inshore bottom-dwelling shark, found in tropical and subtropical waters on the continental and insular shelves. They are commonly found in water depths of less than a meter, but have been found in depths of 75 meters. They usually live in reefs, sand flats and in the channels between mangrove islands. They are distributed in the Atlantic Ocean from Rhode Island to Southern Brazil, and from Cameroon to Gabon, in the Pacific Ocean from Baja California to Peru, and throught the islands of the Caribbean Ocean.
Danger Level: Only attack humans if threatened

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