Carcharhinus plumbeus
Sandbar Shark [+]

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Carcharhinus
species: plumbeus
+ITIS +WoRMS

Description & Behavior

The sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo, 1827), aka brown shark, queriman shark, sandbar shark, shark, and thickskin shark, is a moderately large shark that measures up to 2.5 m in length, 2 m on average, and weighs a maximum of 118 kg. The sandbar shark can weigh anywhere between 45-90 kg as adults. The average is 50 kg for males and 68 kg for females. The sandbar shark is a stout shark with a moderately long, round snout, and high, triangular, saw-edged upper teeth. This species has an interdorsal ridge and a distinctively large first dorsal fin. The sandbar shark is blue-gray or brown to bronze in color on the dorsal side and flanks, white on the ventral side. The tips and outer margins of the fins are sometimes darker than the rest of the body.

World Range & Habitat

The sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, can be found in subtropical water ranging from 23-27°C in temperature between 44°N-36°S in the western Atlantic from southern Massachusetts, USA to southern Brazil; in the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Cuba and south and west Caribbean. In the eastern Atlantic the sandbar shark is found from Portugal to Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Mediterranean. The Indo-Pacific range of this species includes scattered records from the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands, and in the eastern Pacific in the Revillagigedo and Galápagos islands.

The sandbar shark is found in inshore and offshore waters, on continental and insular shelves, as well as in deep water. This species is also common in bays, river mouths, and harbors; however it avoids the surf zone and beach areas. It spends most of the time in water from 20-65 m deep but undoubtedly moves into deeper water to undergo migration.

» GBIF occurrence data in Google Earth [Tips] | Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) (World Distribution) [about]

Feeding Behavior (Ecology)

The sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, is an opportunistic bottom-feeder that preys bony fishes, smaller sharks, rays, cephalopods, gastropods, crabs, and shrimps. The sandbar shark feeds throughout the day but becomes more active at night.

Life History

The sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, is viviparous, meaning the embryo develops and receives nourishment via a placental sac in the mother who bears the young live rather than in eggs. Males reach maturity between 1.30-1.80 m while females mature at 1.45-1.80 m. Pups range from 55-70 cm long at birth.

In the northern hemisphere, mating occurs in the spring or early summer (May-June). Sharks in the southern hemisphere mate during the warmer summer months between late October to January. The mating process begins when the male follows a female, occasionally biting her between the dorsal fins until she gives him access to insert one clasper into the cloaca. As with other shark species, females are often seen with permanent scars as a result of this mating ritual.

Once fertilization occurs, the gestation period ranges 8-9 months in the western Atlantic population where pups are born between June-August, 12 months for females inhabiting the coast of southeastern Africa where pups are born between December to February. Litter size varies by region, but is typically between 6-13 pups depending on the size of the mother. Females give birth in shallow water nursing grounds where they are protected from predation by larger sharks such as bull sharks, known to prey on juvenile sandbar sharks. Bays and estuaries between Delaware and North Carolina off the US coast are common sandbar shark nurseries. Juveniles remain in or near the nursing grounds until late fall after which they form schools and migrate to deeper waters. They return to the nursing grounds during warmer months. They repeat this migratory pattern until they are about 5 years of age when they begin to follow the wider migrations of adults.

Conservation Status/Additional Comments

The sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, is considered harmless to humans. This species is slow to mature and has a low reproductive rate and is therefore particularly vulnerable to threats such as commercial hunting and subsequent overfishing. To prevent this from happening, a management plan was implemented in US waters in 1993.

The sandbar shark is listed as a Lower Risk/near threatened (LR/nt) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:

Lower Risk/near threatened (LR/nt) - A taxon is Lower Risk when it has been evaluated, does not satisfy the criteria for any of the categories Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. Taxa included in the Lower Risk category can be separated into three subcategories:

1. Conservation Dependent (cd). Taxa which are the focus of a continuing taxon-specific or habitat-specific conservation programme targeted towards the taxon in question, the cessation of which would result in the taxon qualifying for one of the threatened categories above within a period of five years.
2. Near Threatened (nt). Taxa which do not qualify for Conservation Dependent, but which are close to qualifying for Vulnerable.
3. Least Concern (lc). Taxa which do not qualify for Conservation Dependent or Near Threatened.

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