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NIGHT SHARK
Carcharhinus signatus
SIZE
To about 9 ft (2.7 m).
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- Eyes large and green
- Snout long and pointed
- First dorsal fin small, originating over or behind free tips of pectoral fins
- Teeth smooth-edged or finely serrated; upper teeth with increasingly oblique cusps, pronounced notch on outer margins with 2-5 coarse serrations
- Color grayish-blue above, sometimes with small black spots; grayish-white below
- Interdorsal ridge
DISTRIBUTION
DE to FL, including Straits of Florida, Cuba, and Gulf of Mexico.
HABITAT
Offshore on or along outer continental and insular shelves; in waters 164-328 ft (50-100 m) or deeper (to 1,968 ft (600 m)).
SIMILAR SPECIES
Silky shark and dusky shark lack green eyes. Silky shark has more rounded, swept-back first dorsal fin. Spinner shark lacks interdorsal ridge.
MORE INFORMATION
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Text descriptions taken from Guide to Sharks, Tunas, & Billfishes of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico |
Night shark length-weight relationship
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(File Modified Sep. 13 2011)
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