Threat Level: low
Scientific name...........Carcharhinus Plumbeus
Other common names............Thickskin shark, brown shark
One of the most notable feature of the Sandbar shark, is its
strikingly tall first dorsal fin. It can be more than one-tenth of
the length of this sizable shark, which usually reaches 6.6 feet in
length. They have a streamlined body with a broad flattened head,
with a moderately long rounded snout. They are a greyish or brownish
color, interdorsal ridge present, and are very strong swimmers.
Sandbar pups are born at 22 to 29.4 inches long, mature at 4.9 to
5.9 feet and reach a length of 6.6 to 8 feet long.
They have high triangular saw-edged upper teeth, which helps them to
cut up their prey.
Their gray or brown above and belly is white, the dorsal and tail
fins both have dusky upper edges. No obvious markings, white band on
The sandbar shark eats many fishes, including menhaden, eels,
flatfish, other sharks, goatfish, skates, octopus squid, and
Some stocks migrate seasonally, often in large schools, as water
temperatures change. Young form mixed-sex schools on shallow coastal
nursery grounds, moving into deeper, warmer water in winter. Adults
are segregated from juveniles ( to reduce cannibalism? ) sexes
usually also separate except when mating in spring and summer. Males
apparently follow and bite the female in the back until they swim
upside down, then mate with both claspers. Mating wounds found on
females during mating season. They feed slightly more actively at
Sandbar sharks live in tropical and temperate waters in Western and
eastern Atlantic, western Indian Ocean, western, eastern, and
central Pacific. They are commonly found in bays, harbours and at
river mouths, also offshore in adjacent deep water and on oceanic
banks. They can be found behind the surf zone on sandy beaches or at
depths as great as 1,300 feet. These sharks prefer to swim near the
bottom, often in large bays and estuaries, but do not move into
These sharks are viviparious, yolk-sac placenta. Mating occurs from
spring through early summer, and females carry the developing young
for 9 to 12 months. They retreat to shallow nursery grounds to give
birth to 8 to 12 young, depending on the size of the mother. Pups
are about 8.6 inches long at birth.
Considered not dangerous
Common, but declining in some regions, because of overfishing.
According to the IUCN the Sandbar sharks are severely overfished in
the western North Atlantic where meat and fins are extremely