Aggressively going at it (sharks)

A

alprazo

Active member
I've seen mating attempts many times with this male short tail nurse shark. Typically he will roll or spin around and occasionally a clapser is eventually inserted for several seconds and then it is over. I have never witnessed this behavior before, but it is a different female than usual.

For those shark enthusiasts out there, it is interesting to note that in addition to more than one mating technique in these sharks, this time the contralateral clasper is used. This is a small clip about 40 minutes into it. It took a long time for her to tire and give up fighting. BTW - the female appears to be carrying eggs. This would be her first season for egg laying. My older female also appears to be carrying too. Last year she laid 6 duds.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/A01a4sLD8Ek?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://youtu.be/A01a4sLD8Ek
 
CU455, claspers are the sexual organs in male sharks. There are adjacent to the pelvic fins. If you look close in the video, the claspers are crossed, like crossing you fingers, and the clasper that is on the opposite side of the female is the one being inserted.

BTW, the male was at it again tonight with a different female. She was able to fight him off though.
 
alprazo said:
Zoodiver,

When you say greys, do you mean grey nurse? That could be one violent act.
Click to expand...

I meant grey bamboos (Chiloscyllium griseum).

Although I have spent many years with grey nurse / sand tigers (Carcharias taurus) in displays. Those things are so hard to get a read on when working with them. One minute they're big puppies, the next they have a 4' shark tank mate hanging out of thier mouth. Happens so fast you fill your wetsuit. "Violent" barely starts to describe their breeding behavior. Haha

That being said, I have the tooth of one of my old 9' females that I wear around my neck as a reminder of my time with them.
 
Zoo diver,

A friend whose wife works for marine bio dept at univ of de sent me this photo. They were catching smooth hounds and I think she told me they were in the process of tagging this one when a sand tiger came out of nowhere. They happened to be recording their catch and nabbed this amazing shot. It goes to the unpredictability of this species. Hard to believe they reside just past the wave break along the east coast and never an attack. I believe their track record is a little different in other parts of the world. Anyway, it is one impressive photo and shows what they can do to a 3-4ft animal

6C8665065-130819-sharkphoto-hmed-1145a-filesblocks_devices_medium_zps99c22df1.jpg
 
Wow, amazing action shot!!


This one was about 5 or 6 years ago. A 9 ft female sand tiger taking down a 3' white tip reef shark (on display). Exactly why I suggested not introducing the smaller bodied sharks to the larger display.


Oops.jpg


This is me with a little guy is one of the males in the display.

SharkDive-1.jpg
 
Are sand tigers and ragged tooth sharks the same? the Boston Aquarium has a "ragged tooth" in the big display tank and it looks just like these
 
Wow. Im glad I didn't know that the Grays lived right past the break in my surfing days. Although I did see many shadows early, early in the morning underwater. Down off Jones Beach, Oak Beach, Gilgo Beach. Did see many a smoothie though. Back then, everything was a "sand shark". Whether it was 12" Dogfish pup or anything 6 feet and bigger that washed up.

What Lies Beneath....
 
4/15

Set #2. Last year the eggs were laid ~ 17 days apart. This set is only 8 days. Not sure if two sharks are laying eggs or one.

20140415_214810_zps6f1a92bc.jpg
 
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