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What shark species is this??.
I get e-mails asking me to Identify shark species. There are some
species that I have never seen, because they are outside the New England area
and I am not really familiar with the species.
I usually can answer the question by looking up the species in books
using the info provided in the e-mails and the photos provided; and by
asking the experts around the world, and knowledgeable people
who have those sharks in their area. In many cases I am familiar
with the species that I am asked to identify.
Since I am not personally familiar with some species; for identifying
those sharks , I consult with shark forums (Shark-L and Coastal Shark
Fishing.)
Additionally I get info from the following books to educate myself on these
species:
The Sharks of North American Waters - Jose I. Castro
Sharks of the World - Compagno- Dando- Fowler
Sharks, Tunas &Billfishes of the U.S. Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico.-
Rhode Island Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries
I will be adding in shark IDs as I get them in. - tom
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OK Shark L-ers what
species is this?
Both pictures are of the same shark species.
This species can get to 13 feet in length.
It is a very large Dusky shark. |
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You are bringing in a shark and you
get this look at it . What is it?
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Shark Lers and others; take a look at the two sharks below.
The one in the top photo is estimated to weigh around 1,500 lbs.
This is the estimation of two different spotter pilots, and a tuna harpooner who
got up behind the shark and looked it over.
Both sharks were in Massachusetts waters.
What species are they?
Are they both individuals of the same species?
Ans: the above shark is an enormous mako, in Mass. Bay; the below shark is
a white in shallow water off Chatham, Mass.
October 13, 2009 got this in an e- mail. What species do
you think it is.?
It has a distinctive snout, pectoral and caudal fin.
Dear Captain Tom,
I found a strange looking fish the other day @ Cox's Bazar,
Bangladesh.. and i have never seen something like it before .. it
looked like a shark to me but im not sure .. would you help identify
it? I'd be really grateful!
Thanks,
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September 21, 2009 A spotter pilot friend Wayne
Davis sent me this photo. Do you know what it is? - Tom
From Wayne: y'ever seen 1 o'these in MassBay?
me neither.......but I did today between Hydrographer & Veach
canyons......ain't this SUMPTHIN??!!
Put it on your site if U want.......
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| This is a Lamnidae family member eating a codfish off the
New Hampshire coast. But what species is it? - Tom
white - Carcharodon carcharias
shortfin mako - Isurus oxyrinchus
longfin mako - Isurus paucus (not in our waters)
porbeagle - Lamna nasus
Salmon shark - Lamna ditropis. (not in our waters)
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December 12,
2008 What species is this?
Hint: New England is in the range of this shark.
The oversize gill openings; the pointed snout, the gaps between the teeth
indicate is is a member of the Lamnidae shark family.
Those members are the:
white - Carcharodon carcharias
shortfin mako - Isurus oxyrinchus
longfin mako - Isurus paucus
porbeagle - Lamna nasus
Salmon shark - Lamna ditropis.
June 23,2009- Its a porbeagle.
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circa 2004, Paul Unangst took this
photo of a shark swimming in Cape Cod Bay between the Fishing Ledge and
Provincetown. What species is it? - tom
Ans. - December 03, 2008 -
Hi Capt. Tom; I believe the pic is nothing other than a Great
White....... Bob
Correct. Notice the dorsal starts right at the back of the pectoral
fins. No gap there, as there would be on a basker. Notice no gill
slits coming way up on the sides of the head like a baskers.
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Got this photo in an e- mail on July
3, 2008 Here is the info:
"I found this shark on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. And I
was wondering if you could tell me what kind it is? thanks for you time."
What do you think it is ;sandbar or dusky or ??
It appears to be a sandbar. |
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 7:51 AM
Subject: Hi From Puerto Rico
Does this look like a shark tail to you ? Thanks
Smitty
A whale or a basker? What do you think?- Tom
Answer: March 13th 2008-
Hay Smitty
I got the report from NOAA .
Capt . Tom King was right it is a Basker shark. Do me a favor. Thank
Capt Tom for his help to identify this shark.
And if he ever comes fishing to Puerto Rico to call me I will get
all the bait he needs. Hay Thank you to
Remember You have a friend over here
Ray
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| Saturday, February 09,
2008 got an e- mail with 2 photos.
Hi -Wondering if you know what this is?
It was inside the stomach of the identical fish, and the large one was
about 150 lbs. Dominican Republic last week
Thanks Mark (Note: Mark did not see the bigger fish
intact as it was cut up when he
arrived.)
Feb.18th, 2008- Tom here- This is a tough one. I sent
him my answer. What do you think.?
Feb 26th 2008 Answer: it looks like a bigeye
thresher Alopias superciliosus
The closest the bigeye gets to New England is New York. The
species we have in New England is Alopias vulpinus the common
thresher.
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January 27, 2008- Hi Capt. Tom,
Can you help us identify this type of
shark. We caught them in the Boca Grande pass on Florida's
Gulf Coast. We normally catch black tip sharks that fight for
about an hour and then become very docile when landed. This
type of shark fights very hard for about 20 minutes and plays tired.
When landed they clamp on to any thing and are considerably more
aggressive. In my pic you can see the shark bit the side of the
boat and wont let go! I tried to pry his jaws of with
my rod and his teeth even imbedded into our boat. The fins are
bigger than the black tips. Please try to help my dad and I
identify the sharks.
Tom here-I am positive I know what it is, and we have them in
New England on the south side of the Cape. What do you think it is? -
tom
Feb. 18, 2008- Answer: It is a sandbar shark, Carcharhinus
plumbeus. In New England they are called "Brown
Sharks."
Characteristics of a sandbar shark would be:
A very large first dorsal. The start
of the first dorsal located over the pectorals and not behind them.
There would be a slight ridge
on the back between the dorsals. A sandbar would have that. (as
would a bignose-dusky-night-silky and tiger sharks, which are in US
waters.) Also the color is usually an obvious brown.
Sandbars are found from Cape Cod to
Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and into the Caribbean.
This shark was released after the photo op.
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| January 6, 2008
Answer to the question:
What shark species is this?
Oceanic white tips have teeth like these , but these teeth have
cusps at the bottom . Hmmm.
It is the teeth of a small white shark, taken commercially in
Massachusetts waters in 2007.
When whites grow larger the cusps disappear. Also notice the gaps
between the teeth, a characteristic of the Lamnidae family, which includes
the white- shortfin mako- longfin mako - porbeagle and salmon shark.
The white is the only member of that family with serrated teeth. - tom
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September 26, 2007
What species is this?
Background-
Hi
Tom,
I
found you on the web and was wondering if you might be able to identify
this shark species for me. I am currently offshore
Western Australia
, up in the
Timor
Sea
on an oil production facility and we are surrounded by hundreds
of these (and possibly other) sharks who hunt big schools of fish that
congregate around the facility at nighttime. Kind
regards - Todd
 
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February 23, 2007 Got an e- mail from Marc. This shark
was taken in the waters around the Dominican Republic.
It's a Bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas. Gets as close to New
England as New York. Bulls can enter and stay in fresh water also.
IGFA record is 697 pounds taken in Africa. Probably the most
aggressive shark involved in attacks on people, in salt and freshwater.
Whites, tigers and oceanic whitetips are other dangerous species.
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October 10, 2006 I got a
cell phone call from 3 friends who are flyrodding bass and blues on the
Brewster Flats. (Cape Cod) They are in 8 feet of water and have a 12
foot shark circling their boat.
I ask them to take pictures. They get a good shot of the
dorsal.
I asked them if the shark is making any attempt to eat the fish they are
bringing back to the boat on the flyrods. They say no.
I asked them if they could see a lot of white on the bottom side of the
shark. They say no.
What do you think it is?
Jan. 26, 2007 - It is a basking sharks dorsal. (Cetorhinus
maximus)- tom |
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Posted on August 27, 2006
- From an earlier e- mail " Hi tom, found your site
and was wondering if you could id the shark in the photo's attached to
this email, they were taken in the north sea off a platform
east of aberdeen Scotland.
I don't think its a blue as it looks a little to squat to me and just not
streamlined enough regards Callum
We have this species in New England year round. It is a
porbeagle, Lamna nasus. (Notice the white patch on
the back bottom of the dorsal fin, and on the bottom photo notice
the secondary keel on the tail just under where the body section joins the
tail. )
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| From an e-mail....... The shark was caught off the
coast of the Florida Keys (specifically Isla Morada), in the Atlantic.
We were about 5 miles out to sea, and the depth I believe was about 80
feet. |
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Atlantic sharpnose
shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae
There are not many of these sharks north of New Jersey, but
strays make it into our New England Waters.
They are also in the Gulf of Mexico.
They grow to about 4 feet. ( There are several more related species
to this shark around the world. The closest range of another closely
related species, is the Caribbean sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon
porosus .
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From an e- mail.......Not sure what type of shark this is.
I think its a lemon. Caught off of Marathon Florida.
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 photo
by James Maluk |
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Blacknose shark, Carcharhinus acronotus
Grows to about 4-1/2 feet. Usually has a dark spot on the
nose. Range on the East coast is from the Carolinas to
Florida. Also found in the Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean. Not here in the New England area. |
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