What kind of prey does a nurse shark eat?
Once captured, prey is crushed by the shark’s strong jaws and ground by its serrated teeth. Usually, nurse sharks feed upon invertebrates and small fish. Where nurse sharks and alligators are found together, the two species attack and eat each other. Nurse sharks have few predators, but other large sharks do occasionally feed on them.
What kind of color does a nurse shark have?
Adult nurse sharks are brownish in color. Newly born nurse sharks have a spotted coloration which fades with age and are about 30 cm in length when nascent.
How old do nurse sharks live in the wild?
Nurse sharks live 25 years in captivity, although they may reach 35 years of age in the wild. Nurse Sharks and Humans Nurse sharks adapt well to captivity and are an important species for research, primarily in the area of shark physiology. The species is fished for food and leather.
How does a nurse shark walk in the ocean?
If it must move, the Nurse shark may even use its large front (or pectoral) fins to ‘walk’ along the ocean floor. Because the Nurse shark can pump water over its gills, it does not need to swim in order to breathe. Unlike many sharks, the Nurse shark is non-migratory.
What is a predator to a nurse shark?
Although the Nurse shark has no real predator, remains of Nurse sharks have been found in the stomachs of Tiger sharks , and Lemon sharks . Also, there have been reports of Bull sharks , and Great white sharksfeeding on Nurse sharks. [1] GalleryEdit
How does nurse shark get their food?
Nurse Shark Feeding. At night, the groups of Nurse Sharks become solitary and they go find food. They find it in the sediment at the bottom of the sea. They consume a variety of food items including sea snakes, fish, stingrays, mollusks, tunicates, and crustaceans . They move very slowly along the bottom of the water to get their food.
What is the behavior of a nurse shark?
Behavior. Nurse sharks are nocturnally active, and are mostly solitary as they search for food. During the day, however, they will congregate in groups of up to 40 individuals, often lying in a sluggish pile on the ocean floor, or hidden under ledges or crevices in the reef.
What does a grey nurse shark eat for food?
The grey nurse sharks eat mainly lobsters, crabs, smaller sharks, fish, rays and squid . Distribution [ edit ] The grey nurse sharks live near the coast in sub-tropical to cool-temperate waters near most continental land masses (not found in the eastern Pacific Ocean off North and South America).
