SAND TIGER SHARKS:
The Facts

These sharks have a catlike eye and a mouthful of wicked looking teeth. They are light gray in color, white on their stomachs, and juveniles have a series spots on their sides which gradually disappear as they mature. They have a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and rows of teeth that are shed completely over a 2 week period. The fins are large and fleshy and provide hydro-dynamic lift. The first dorsal is situated fairly far back, and is close to the second dorsal, which is almost as
large as the first. The tail is long and arching with a hook at the end. The sand tiger can reach lengths of over ten feet. In some part of the world they are considered harmless, while in others they are considered very dangerous

Off the coast of North Carolina scuba divers regularly dive with dozens of sand tigers which congregate around the wreck of the Papoose. The Papoose was torpedoed by the U-124 during WWII and provides a wonderful habitat for these magnificent creatures. In American waters, Carcharius taurus is considered to be unaggressive and fairly easy to catch. The sand tiger can be found in the waters of Australia, South Africa, South America, Japan, India, and China.

Sharks make up the Chondrichthyes, or "cartilaginous fish." First appearing on Earth almost 450 million years ago, cartilaginous fish include both predators like the sand tiger and harmless mollusc-eaters like the Atlantic stingray. Members of Chondrichthyes are boneless and have a skeleton composed of cartilage (a flexible structure like the ones in your nose and ears). their teeth are calcified. Cartilage has a different structure from that of true bone. Most sharks eat fish, squid, marine mammals, and scavenge any other available food source.

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ISAF Statistics
for Worldwide Unprovoked Shark Attacks

Courtesy: The International Shark Attack File - www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/Trends2.htm

Attacking Species of Sharks (1554-1996)		Attacks
Carcharodon Carcharius	Great White	231
Galeocerdo cuvier	Tiger	67
Carcharhinus leucas	Bull	57
Carcharius taurus	Sand Tiger	31
Carcharhinus spp.	Requiem	28

Some of this information is courtesy of H. David Baldridge 1974