AnimalvsAnimal
Feeding time!🦈

Photo: Bill Abbott · CC BY-SA 2.0

SpeciesCarcharhiniformesCarcharhinidae
Sharks & rays

🦈Tiger shark

Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822)

The tiger shark is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus Galeocerdo and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large predator, with females capable of attaining a length of over 5 m. Populations are found in many tropical and temperate waters, especially around central Pacific islands. Its name derives from the dark stripes down its body, which resemble a tiger's pattern and fade as the shark matures.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
213
Photos
1
Measurements
8
vs you
≈ 7.2× your weight
Conservation status
NTNear threatened

IUCN Red List assessment, 2019.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
444 kg
Body length
5 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
50 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Tiger shark

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
444 kgrecord 807 kg · FishBase
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Body length
5 mrecord 7.5 m · FishBasetypical adult
FishBase
Details ↓

Record: largest individual on record

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Maximum lifespan
50 yearsrecord 50 years · FishBase
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Litter size
about 32
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Trophic level
4.56
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0

Diet
carnivoreaverage
Details ↓

From trophic level 4.56 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.

Danger to humans
traumatogenic
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Volume l
444 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Tiger shark yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classElasmobranchii
  4. ›orderCarcharhiniformes
  5. ›familyCarcharhinidae
  6. ›genusGaleocerdo
  7. ›speciesGaleocerdo cuvier
Full lineage
  1. superclassGnathostomata
  2. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  3. subclassElasmobranchii
  4. genusGaleocerdo
All 8 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  7. subclassElasmobranchii
  8. genusGaleocerdo
More

More about the Tiger shark

In other languages
Tigerhai (de), 虎沙 (zh), żarłacz tygrysi (pl), כריש טיגריסי (he), 뱀상어 (ko), Requin-tigre (fr) … and 24 more languages

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Tree of life

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