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Sharks of Onslow County
Sand Tiger Shark

Taxonomy & Biology

Taxonomy

Common Name(s): Sand tiger shark, slender-tooth shark, spotted sandtiger shark, grey nurse shark (Australia), spotted raggedtooth shark (South Africa)

Scientific Name: Carcharias taurus

Classification

  • Kingdom:  Animalia
  • Subkingdom: Bilateria
  • Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Subphylum: Vertebrata
  • Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
  • Class: Chondrichthyes
  • Subclass: Elasmobranchii
  • Superorder: Euselachii
  • Order: Lamniformes
  • Family: Odontaspididae
  • Genus: Carcharias
  • Species: taurus

Biology

Population

Sand tiger sharks are a slow-moving coastal shark. They commonly found inshore at depths between 6 feet to 626 feet. Depth is correlated to shark size (Teter et al., 2015). They can be found in the surf zone, shallow bays, coral and rocky reefs and at outer continental shelves (French, Naylor & Cooper, 2025). While they are most often seen trolling near the bottom surface, they do range at all levels of the water column.

Sand tiger sharks have exhibited global population declines. In the United States, they are listed as a Species of Concern by NOAA Fisheries. There is limited research on their movement and habitat use.

Body Size

The average size of sand tiger sharks is about 10.5 feet for females and 9.9 feet for males (French, Naylor & Cooper, 2025). Both males and females reach maturity at about 6.5 feet long.

Feeding & Diet

Prey of sand tiger sharks consists of a wide variety of bony fishes such as, bluefish, herring, flatflish, eel, mullet, snapper, hake, croaker, sea robin, and sea bass (French, Naylor & Cooper, 2025). They will also consume squid, crab, lobster, and smaller sharks and rays. They have been observed cooperative feeding on schooling fish.

Juvenile sand tiger sharks are susceptible to predation by larger sharks. Adult sand tiger sharks have no major predators.

Position in the Food Web

Sand tiger sharks are considered apex predators. Reef fish communities correlate to the presence of sand tiger sharks (Brown et al., 2020). The presence of these sharks have shown higher numbers of water-column species, such as jacks and barracuda, and lower numbers of benthic species, such as seabass and grouper.

Behavior

Sand tiger sharks can hover in the water column without sinking. They will periodically swim to the surface to gulp air that will inflate their stomach cavity to act like a swim bladder (Murch, 2024). They can also make a "whip crack" sound with thier tail to quickly move from a stationeary position. This is thought it can be a way to confuse prey or be a form of threat display.

Reproduction

Sand tiger sharks are ovoviparous with embryophagy/adelphophagy in the uteri (French, Naylor & Cooper, 2025). This means the largest and most developed embryo sand tiger shark embryos will cannabilze or eat the remainiing eggs and less developed embryos of its siblings. Litters are limited to two per shark - one for each uteri. When they reach 6.7 inches, they will have functional teeth and begin feeding on their siblings at 10.2 inches. Pups at birth measure 39 inches. The gestation period for sand tiger sharks is between 9 and 12 months based on water temperature. It is thought that depth range is impacted by water temperature (Price et al., 2024).

Mating scars on females after arrival to North Carolina suggest that mating is taking place in North Carolina waters, summer through fall (Price et al., 2024) Some pregnant female sharks overwinter at Frying Pan Tower and move north in the spring. Mating and birth have not been observed for this species in North Carolina, so timing and location are currently unknown. Based on photographic evidence, sand tigers less than 1.2 meters in length have been observed in North Carolina waters suggestng partuition is occurring in this location.

Natural Mortality

Maximum age, based on vertebral centra data, is estimated to be between 30-35 years old (French, Naylor & Cooper, 2025). However, in aquariums, the maximum age is 24 years old.

They are susceptible to bottom longline fisheries in November and December (Teter et al., 2015). They are very susceptible to shore fishing (Crotty et al., 2024). They experienced dramatic declines globally from commercial fishing, spear fishing, and bang stick fishing and are listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List.

Biodiversity

Sand tiger sharks have exhibited site fidelity, a behavior where they will return to specific areas over time (Paxton et al., 2019). They frequent shipwrecks and artificial reefs for shelter, mating and pupping.

Demographics

North Carolina is an important habitate for sand tiger sharks that are often observed at shipwrecks and other other artificial reef habitats. Little is know about their occupancy, movement ecology and site fidelty (Price et al., 2024). Pregnant females are known to remain in North Carolina waters through winter gestation and migrate out of North Carolina after birth in the spring, or can remain as residents year-round. While nurseries for these sharks have been confirmed in Massachusetts, juveniles have been reported in North Carolina and Florida between November and April. They tend to aggregate by maturity level and habitat preference.

Citizen science has helped inform researchers of identifiable sand tiger sharks along coastal North Carolina. SCUBA and recreational divers utilize Spot A Shark USA to upload images of sand tigers that they encounter.

Migratory Pattern

There is limited research on the movement of sand tiger sharks.

Sand tiger sharks tend to remain within their region and move poleward during the summer (French, Naylor & Cooper, 2025). They will make equatorial movements during the fall and winter months.

A study in 2008 showed that males left Delaware Bay in the fall and moved south along the edge of the continental shelf until they reached North Carolina, around the vicinity of Cape Hatteras (Teter et al., 2015). Females moved east to offshore waters near the edge of the continental slope. They demonstrated a temperature preference between 17 to 23 degrees Celcius.

A recent study showed that migratory departure from Delaware Bay occurred with temperatures dropped to between 18 to 19 degrees Celcius (Crotty et al., 2024). Departures from North Carolina occur in the summer between 20 to 25 degrees Celcius. They seem to prefer water temperatures below 20 degrees Celcius. This indicates that temperature is a cue for migration and seasonal thermal tolerance that could be impacted by climate change.

Ecological Relationships

North Carolina serves as a seasonal habitat, gestation and stopover location for sand tiger sharks. Females will return to shipwrecks and the continental shelf for potential pupping, mating and resting sites. They mate in the spring and gestate in the summer and fall. As an apex predator, they help to maintain a balanced ecosystem and increase species diversity. Through their hunting style, they provide a predation refuge for round scad (Decapterus punctatus) (Coleman & Burge, 2021). 

Danger to Humans

Sand tiger sharks do not pose a significant threat to humans. They have a docile nature, even though their mouth of teeth may suggest otherwise. There have been documented attacks by this shark, but it has been linked specifically to spearfishiing and hand-feeding. There have been no documented deaths by these sharks (Florida Museum, 2022).

Fishing Regulations

As of June 2025, in North Carolina, sand tiger sharks are not allowed to be harvested as they are a protected and prohibited species for any size (Rawls, 2024). Due to their protections, they cannot be retained or landed, and, if caught, they are to be released immediately without removal from the water with minimal injury.

Please Note: The fishing regulations and information provided on this website are for general information purposes only. While we strive to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the content, fishing laws and regulations can change frequently and vary by location. It is the responsibility of each angler to verify the current local, state, and federal fishing laws before fishing. Always consult the official website or contact the appropriate wildlife and fisheries agency for the most up-to-date rules and regulations.

We are not liable for any penalties, fines, or legal issues that may arise from the use or misuse of the information on this site.

References

Brown, C. M., Paxton, A. B., Taylor, J. C., Van Hoeck, R. V., Fatzinger, M. H., & Silliman, B. R. (2020). Short-term changes in reef fish community metrics correlate with variability in large shark occurrence. Food Webs, 24, e00147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2020.e00147

Coleman, N. C., & Burge, E. J. (2021). Association behavior between sand tiger sharks and round scad is driven by mesopredators. PeerJ, 9(11164). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8038640/

Crotty, E., Weatherbee, B., DeLoof, B., & Kresge, C. (2024, February). Drivers of Migration in Sand Tiger Sharks, Carcharias taurus, in the Western North Atlantic Ocean [Paper presentation]. Ocean Sciences Meeting, New Orleans, LA. https://agu.confex.com/agu/OSM24/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1484747

Florida Museum. (2022, January 25). Species implicated in attacks. International Shark Attack File. Retrieved June 25, 2025, from https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/factors/species-implicated/

French, L., Naylor, G., & Cooper, P. (2025, February 6). Sand tiger shark. Florida Museum. Retrieved June 25, 2025, from https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/sand-tiger-shark/

IUCN. (2022). Sand tiger shark. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3854/2876505

Murch, A. (2024, May 11). Sandtiger shark. Sharks and Rays. https://www.sharksandrays.com/sandtiger-shark/

Paxton, A. B., Blair, E., Blawas, C., Fatzinger, M. H., Marens, M., Holmberg, J., Kingen, C., Houppermans, T., Keusenkothen, M., McCord, J., Silliman, B. R., & Penfold, L. M. (2019). Citizen science reveals female sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) exhibit signs of site fidelity on shipwrecks. Ecology, 100(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2687

Price, C. S., McClanahan, A. L., Burge, E. J., Houppermans, T., & Holmberg, J. (2024). Community science informs movement and reproductive ecology of sand tigers Carcharias Taurus off North Carolina, United States of America. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1362703

Rawls, K. (2024). Proclamation Re: Shark - Commercial and Recreational - Opening Date and Harvest Restrictions (FF-2-2024). NC Division of Marine Fisheries. https://files.nc.gov/deq/documents/2023-12/FF-2-2024_Shark_Opening.pdf?VersionId=ojmPIaCH.7VqI6F8cf_GTAY1fy80NCYY#:~:text=H.,Isurus%20oxyrinchus)%20for%20recreational%20purposes

Teter, S. M., Wetherbee, B. M., Fox, D. A., Lam, C. H., Kiefer, D. A., & Shivji, M. (2015). Migratory patterns and habitat use of the sand tiger shark (Carcharias Taurus) in the western North Atlantic. Marine and Freshwater Research, 66(2), 158. https://doi.org/10.1071/mf14129
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