Family ODONTASPIDIDAE

Odontaspididae

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Introduction

Members of the Odontaspididae are generally referred to as nurse sharks in Australia, but are often called sand tiger sharks in other parts of the world. Currently, two genera and three species are recognised worldwide. Two widely distributed species in the two known genera occur in Australia (Last & Stevens 1994, 2009).

Nurse sharks occur in coastal waters and along the continental shelf and slope to depths of about 1600 m. They are ovoviviparous. These sharks feed largely on fishes, but have gained a reputation of being dangerous to humans. Few attacks on humans are known, however, and some workers feel the shark is not as harmful as previously thought. Nurse sharks reach a size of 3.6 m.

Many workers recognise only the genus Carcharias (often as Odontaspis), but studies of fossil and recent material indicate two distinct groups (Compagno 1984, 2001). Previously, the sharks were grouped under the name Carcharias. In some early literature, Carcharias was also used for carcharinid sharks, whereas Odontaspis was more commonly used for the nurse sharks. In 1965, the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature suppressed Carcharias and other names pre-dating Odontaspis. However in 1987, the Commission removed Carcharias from the Rejected Generic Names List, placing it on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology, but indicated that Carcharias is not to be given precedence over Odontaspis whenever the two are considered synonyms. As a result Carcharias now replaces Eugomphodus Gill, 1862.

General References

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Rome : FAO Vol. 4(1) pp. 1-249.

Compagno, L.J.V. 2001. Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes). Rome : FAO, FAO Species Catalogue for Fisheries Purposes No. 1 Vol. 2 269 pp.

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1965. Opinion 723. Repeal of the ruling given in Opinion 47 together with the stabilization of the generic names Carcharhinus Blainville, 1816, Carcharodon Smith, 1838 and Odontaspis Agassiz, 1838 in their accustomed sense (Pisces). Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 22(1): 32-36

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1987. Opinion 1459. Carcharias Rafinesque, 1810 (Chondrichthys, Lamniformes) conserved. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 43(1): 89-92

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls.

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp. [158]

Common Name References

Compagno, L.J.V. & Niem, V.H. 1998. Family Odontaspididae. pp. 1264-1267 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 687-1396 pp. [1264] (FAO) (Sand Tiger Sharks)

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. [144] (Grey Nurse Sharks)

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