Author: (Peron & Lesueur, 1822)

Galeocerdo cuvieri (Peron & Lesueur, 1822)

Diagnosis: trunk stout in pectoral region, tapering to slender caudal peduncle. Snout short and bluntly rounded; upper labial furrow as long as snout length; nasal flap apparent. Head flattened dorsally and broad. Teeth large, serrate, oblique, similar in both jaws, inner margin convex, outer margin deeply notched, serrations towards base on outer margin large. Eyes slightly oval. Spiracle present behind and above eye. Gill-slits all approximately of equal length. Pectoral fins relatively broad; first dorsal fin low, apex rounded; inter-dorsal ridge present, becoming a furrow just anterior to second dorsal fin; anal fin apex strongly curved posteriorly; strong lateral keels on caudal peduncle; upper caudal lobe long, apex tenuate. Colour: greenish-grey to brown with well-defined dark spots in juveniles, the spots blending, becoming vertical bars and fading with size, still visible in specimens greater than 3 m TL. Size: reported to 7 m TL, common to 4 m TL.

Habitat: coastal to epipelagic waters, usually found near bottom, but seen sunning at surface; a slow-cruising species, powerful swimmer. Food: omnivorous, diet includes fishes, molluscs, crustaceans, sea-birds, seaturtles, sea-mammals and garbage. Reproduction: ovoviviparous, large litters, up to 80 young, usually near 40, born at 60-80 cm TL. Gestation period may be 16 months.

Distribution: rare, one record from Iceland. also rerported off Morocco; apparently absent from Mediterranean. Elsewhere, cosmopolitan in tropical seas.

Complementary iconography. Müller & Henle, 1841, pl. 23-24 | D'Aubrey, 1964a, pl. 6 | Kato et al., 1967, fig. 55.
Eggs, larvae, and young stages: Sarangdhar, 1943: 105 | Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948: 269 | Setna & Sarangdhar, 1949: 115 | Kauffman, 1950: 7.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Chondrichthyes
Superorder Pleurotremata
Family Carcharhinidae
Genus Galeocerdo
Species Galeocerdo cuvieri

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Synonym of Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Galeocerdo cuvieri (Peron & Lesueur, 1822)

Synonyms:

sometimes spelt G. cuvier
Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)
Squalus cuvier Peron & Lesueur, 1822 in Lesueur, J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 2: 351
(Terre de Witt, New Holland). Type: unknown.
Squalus arcticus Faber, 1829, Naturgesch . Fische Islands: 17 (Iceland). Type: unknown .
Galeocerdo arcticus: Müller & Henle, 1841: 60 Krøyer, 1852: 933 Fowler, 1936, 1: 56 Dollfus, 1955: 19.
Galeocerdo cuvier: Bigelow & Schroeder, 1948: 271, fig. 44 Wheeler, 1969: 58, fig. 23-24.


Common names:

Tiger shark [En]
Requin tigre commun [Fr]
Tintorera [Es]

Aubrey, J. D. d'. 1964a. Preliminary guide to the sharks found off the east coast of South Africa. Invest. Rep. oceanogr. res. Inst., Durban, (8) :1-95, 22 fig., 28 pl.

Bigelow, H. B.; Schroeder, W. C. 1948b. Sharks. In: Fishes of the western north Atlantic. Mem. Sears Found. Mar. Res., New Haven, 1(1): 59-576, fig. 6-106.

Dollfus, R. Ph. 1955. Première contribution à l'établissement d'un fichier ichthyologique du Maroc atlantique de Tanger à l'embouchure de l'Oued Dra. Trav. Inst. scient. chérif., ZooL, (6): 227 p., 1 map.

Faber, F.1829. Naturgeschichte der Fische Islands. Frankfurt am Main, 206 p.

Fowler, H. W.1936. The Marine Fishes of West Africa, based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition 1909-15. Bull. am. Mus. nat. Hist., 70 (1), Jan. 21, 1936: vii+606 p., fig. 1-275; (2), Nov. 18,1936: 607-1493, fig. 276-567.

Kato, S.; Springer, S.; Wagner, M. H. 1967. Field Guide to Eastern Pacific and Hawaiian Sharks. Circ. Fish Wildl. Serv., Wash., 271: 47 p., 75 fig.

Kauffman, D. E. 1950. Notes on the biology of the tiger shark (Galeocerdo arcticus) from Philippine waters. Res. Rep. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., 16:10 p., 5 fig.

Kröyer, H. N. 1838-53. Danmarks Fiske. Kjøbenhavn. 1, 1838: 616 p.; 2, 1843-45: 644 p.; 3, 1846: 320 p.; 4, 1849: 321 640; 1852: 641-960; 1853: 961-1279.

Lesueur, C. A. 1822. Description of a Squalus, of a very large size, which was taken on the coast of New Jersey. J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad, 2 (2): 343-352, pl.

Müller, J.; Henle, J.1841. Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Berlin, xxii+204 p., 60 pl.

Sarangdhar, P. N. 1943. Tiger shark-Galeocerdo tigrinus Muller and Henle. Feeding and breeding habits. J. Bcmbay nat. Hist. Soc., 44 (1) :102-110.

Setna, S. B.; Sarandghar, P. N. 1949. Breeding habits of Bombay Elasmobranchs. Rec. Indian Mus., 47 :107-124.

Wheeler, A. 1969. The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe. Macmillan, London, Melbourne and Toronto: i-xvii+1-163, 5+177 fig., +392 fig. (princ. sp.)+92 n. num. fig., 16 pl., maps.

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